Truelight of your Aura
by UchihaAura
Summary: Being in a new place is hard. But making new friends that you could never live without, that is even harder...  Rated T  just to be safe.
1. Prologue

I closed my light hazel eyes against the spinning stars. I felt my dark hair glide behind me, while the two shorter locks that fell on either side of my face slapped my cheeks briskly. I leaned forward and clutched Latias's sleek body tighter. I felt my backpack thump heavily against my small, thin figure. Cooling breezes and channels of air began to set in, washing away the day's hotter and more humid display.

Latias turned her head to look at me. Her light hazel eyes were dulled from exhaustion however, their lively spark hadn't altered. "We'll be in Konoha by dawn. Rest now, Naya. I'll wake you when we arrive," Latias whispered through her telepathy.

I nodded drowsily. I had already been aware of my eyelids drooping for some hours already. I nestled my head against her wing joint and was quickly lulled to sleep by Latias's gentle movements through the night's chilly air.

I dreamed that night. I saw Latios and the silhouette of another person beside him. I could see that it was a boy, looking no older then thirteen. He had short, bristled hair in a spiked style. From his silhouette, he wore a thick jacket with a highly folded collar. His legs were hidden beneath gently-falling pants. Sharp edges on either side of his forehead hinted the presence of some kind of face or eye gear looking similar to ski or scuba goggles.

He and Latios seemed to be standing on an island made of starlight. Everything felt warm and gentle, like a soft summer's evening. A true paradise! I could see other shadowed and blurred figures moving around the island, though I recognized none of them.

I watched them silently from the edge of the island. I was completely mesmerized by the island's beauty. I watched as Latios stared right at me. But, it wasn't at me, it was _through _me, almost as though I wasn't there. As if, I were transparent to his keen eyes.

_Can he see or sense me? Or am I just a bystander who has no part to play in this? _

_Maybe he could feel me if I touched him…_

I tried to take a step forward. My legs didn't respond. Not even a little bit. I felt no pain though… Not like the time when I had been paralyzed by a thunder wave. I was just frozen.

_Frozen!_

_It was as though I were frozen in time or space. Unanimated. Stilled. Stuck between two universes. _

I sighed to myself. My eyes began to wander, scanning and absorbing every tiny detail of my dreamland. It felt summer-like. A large oak tree resided in the center on a tiny island of land for its roots to use as a base. A sparkling pool or moat surrounded the little section of land. I could see waves lapping at the banks, which seemed to resist being eroded by the constant lapping of water. Stones had been placed in the water. They weren't rugged or jagged at all. They were smooth and shiny, as though they'd been in place, undisturbed for perhaps generations. All of them shone with a silvery glint as moonlight bounced of their surfaces.

Then, I noticed the stars begin to shine brighter. A gentle brightness that maximized slowly and steadily. I was basked in a bright, almost golden beam of light. It was warm. Warm like sunlight. I felt something shaking me gently. Calling to me.

"Time to wake up."

I muttered something that was supposed to say, "Leave me alone." Though, it didn't come out that way. My eyelids fluttered, and my eyes opened, and I stared into the bright face of Latias.

I realized that I was lying on the ground. The fresh scent of grass and moss filled my nostrils. I could feel a small blanket over my back.

I sat up slowly; my eyes still full of sleep and my vision still bleary. I quickly became aware of a small pile of fruit at my side. I grasped an apple from the top and began to force bites into my mouth and down my throat.

I felt Latias touch my shoulder gently. I took a guess that it was she that had taken care of me. I turned to thank her, but she was gone.

"Latias? Are you there?" I called in the misty morning air.

No reply.

"Latias, thank you…for everything. I'll miss you, but it's not goodbye after all. Is it, my friend?" I whispered.

I tucked by hand into the pocket of my sky-blue jacket and pulled out the poke ball belonging to Espeon. I threw it.

"Espeon, let's go!"

Espeon sprang out. Her feline-like face with a single, red gem resting on it, turned and smiled at me. She lifter her tail, which split into two sections halfway down, into an arch, happily.

I beckoned to her to follow. I turned and faced the great gate of Konoha. The morning sun shone brightly over a mountain that cast a shadow over the village. In the top of the mountain were faces, carved into the stone.

I turned to Espeon. "Are you ready?"

She nodded.

Side by side, Espeon and I walked into the blinding light of dawn and through the great gates of Konoha.


	2. Graduation  Morning

I woke early on the day of my ninja academy graduation exam. I felt unusually confident. Though, I'd only lived in Konoha for about a year and a half now, it felt like I'd lived here forever. It was a wonderful feeling.

I got up quickly. Taking much less time then normal to put on my outfit consisting of my scarlet red tee shirt and pale kaki pants. My sky blue jacket covered my tee shirt. I tied my mid-length hair back in a low ponytail, so it brushed my collar of my jacket.

Espeon was stirring too. She sat up from her sleeping area at the foot of my bed and began to groom herself. Once finished, she jumped down to the floor and shook out her pelt and then padded into the small corner-kitchen to dig up breakfast, which for her, consisted of two apples and as much water as desired.

I watched her eat, feeling a warm expression toward her normal attitude of acting as though everyday was special and her normal and calm temper. It always calmed my nerves to have her around and to talk to. Even though sometimes didn't or refused to take part in my conversations and debates.

I left my apartment in a hurry after placing Espeon into her poke ball. I could feel Konoha bustling with life and energy. I caught a glimpse of Kiba and his nin-dog, Akamaru standing together outside the Konoha Library. I could hear Kiba murmuring to Akamaru sheepishly about not doing his homework. Akamaru barked in a scolding way.

I laughed. His relationship with Akamaru was not unlike mine with Espeon, my best friend. I waved at him, though I was fairly sure that he hadn't noticed me.

I liked Kiba as a friend. Thanks to Hinata, she introduced me to everyone on my first day at the Academy.

I continued my walk through Konoha. I picked out a small knot of Jonin or Chunin standing close together. One of them had an odd scar on the left side of his face. Another had long copper hair, with his right eye hidden by his forelock the hung out loosely from his navy bandana that had his metal, ninja plate mounted upon. Another had a hair that looked a bit like a bristled, flat, black mop. He wore a loose bandage across his nose. He had stern black or dark blue eyes staring at the ground. The final ninja had thin, long light brown hair the poked out from underneath his navy bandana, not unlike the one who had his right eye covered. Only this ninja wore his bandana backwards, so the tie was on his forehead, and I guess that the metal plate was mounted on the back. He held a senbon needle or maybe a mere toothpick between his teeth.

Did that serve some kind of use during combat or was it to make him look like a tough ninja with a large ego?

I pricked my ears when I heard them talking.

"Hey, Genma. The Academy's graduation test is today, right?" the ninja with his eye covered asked the one with the senbon needle.

"Yeah," Genma replied.

"Do you think they'll let that new girl participate?" asked the ninja with the scar on his nose.

"It's possible. You know that, Raido," replied Genma.

"I think Iruka will give her a chance. I've watched her myself. She's not half bad after being at the Academy for only about a year. What do you think, Kotetsu?" asked the forelock man again.

"Well, Izumo. She might make it, but she'd still be inexperienced. I think that it would be better to keep her in the Academy for another term," replied Kotetsu, the only one who hadn't spoken yet.

"But the Leaf Village needs new shinobi. Inexperienced or not, she knows what she's doing!" Raido pointed out plainly.

"But what good will the do if they're inexperienced?" Kotetsu countered.

"That's a Jonin sensei is for!" Genma remarked drily.

"But still…" Izumo replied.

"Well, it's out of our hands now," interrupted Genma. "If Lord Hokage prefers youth to experience, then that girl just passed the test."

I passed without a gesture or word to the knot of ninja. If I actually knew them personally, I might've said 'hi' or something. Maybe I might've asked their names, but my heart really wasn't in it. Not to mention that I would've been too skittish to ask.

I noticed Hinata leaving the Hyuga compound, her light blue school bag swung over her shoulder.

Hinata was shorter than me by about ½ an inch. She had short, cute, black hair, which was a little longer along sides of her checks, much like mine. She had large, pale, lavender eyes, from the byakugan gene. She wore her pale colored sweatshirt with some fake fur around the bottom accompanied by dark blue cargo pants.

I noticed another person behind her. A boy, with really long, dark brown hair, tied about three inches from the ends keeping it together in a neat, reverse ponytail. He had his headband, which was mounted onto a black piece of fabric, wrapped and tied around his forehead, much like the other Konoha shinobi. He wore a light tan jacket with short sleeves and a puffy or raised collar. He wore dark brown shorts with a slight purplish shade. The visible parts of his right arm and leg were wrapped firmly with bandages that stopped a few centimeters before the first bend in his fingers. He wore a stern, strict emotion on his face, not unlike the bossy sort of look that Shino wore on most days.

I approached quietly. Hinata's escort noticed my presence and looked up. I met his gaze. I dipped my head in due respect.

"H…hi, Naya-chan," she whispered.

"Morning Hinata," I returned.

"Th…this is Neji-nii-san. He's my cousin and is a year older then me. He's a ninja already," she murmured.

I dipped my head in a greeting.

He returned my gesture curtly.

"I'll leave you to it, Hinata," growled Neji. He gave me one more curt nod and stalked off in the direction that I just came from.

_Why'd he call her 'Hinata'? When I'm in the Hyuga compound, everyone seems to call her 'Hinata-sama' or 'Lady Hinata'. _

"Let's go," I said to my friend who was staring after Neji. An odd emotion had taken hold of her face. She nodded blankly and followed me.


	3. First Encounters

The Academy had never looked so intimidating to me before, not even on my first day. I sighed wistfully and calmly at that memory. I could remember vividly.

I was standing in front of the Academy with Espeon at my side. I was feeling so nervous I was sure that I was going to be sick. I flinched and leapt away at every noise, voice, and individual that approached or spoke to me. I was as skittish as a newborn stantler.

I had arrived to the classroom early, feeling too queasy and nervous to watch everyone else practice throwing shuriken and kunai knives at wooden targets that looked like a person, hear them talking of battles that they wanted to fight in, and their desires to feel their enemy's blood on the their hands in their glory.

The only other occupant in the room when I arrived was a boy. He had spiky raven hair with two longer, bristled locks that framed his face. He wore a blue short-sleeved shirt with a raised collar and some kind of red and white fan or crest on the back. He looked as though his forearms were engulfed in loose, baggy, white cloth with a blue belt or buckle fastened tightly around the ends at his wrists and elbows. He wore white or light tan shorts and navy sandals or ninja shoes that everyone else seemed to be wearing.

He turned when he heard the door scrape open. I could see him clearly now. He had large, onyx eyes with a pale face. Jagged bangs hung from the center of his head, touching his eyebrows. His expression was grim and cold. I shrank away as I felt his aura hit me in waves that felt either cold or full of hate when they were absorbed into my body.

"Who are you?" was the first words that had escaped his mouth. His eyes were still fixed coldly on me.

"I'm Naya. I'm a new student starting today and I was told to come here," I replied, staring at the ground.

"Humph. This Academy is for students who are serious about becoming ninja. The training is vigorous and painful. Are you sure that you're in the right place?"

_Is he mocking me? _I drew my lips back to reveal a snarl. _Cool it, Naya! If you're going to be a ninja, you're going to have to get used to this taunting… just like in a Pokémon match. _I bit my tongue to center my focus.

"Well I am serious about this." _It's my destiny…_

"Hn," he growled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He didn't reply.

"Well…" I began, beginning to feel annoyance at this kid tugging at my conscience. "At least tell me your name."

"Uchiha Sasuke," he growled.

I nodded, still looking at the floorboards.

I heard the door scrape open. I turned my head quickly, and shied away, still feeling skittish.

Two girls strolled in with their shoulders pressed firmly together.

One had pale blond hair what was tied up in a high ponytail while another long lock of her hair covered the right side of her face, completely hiding her right eye from view. She wore almost a cross between a tank top and a baggy scarf, they were both a dark shade of purple. Her lower belly was wrapped in bandages. She also wore a sort of skirt or half shorts, in the same shade of purple as her upper garment.

Her companion wore a red dress, with side vents, lined with white with white rings on the short sleeves and down by her knees. Underneath, I could see that she wore short, tight leggings of a shade of dark gray. She had blossom pink hair that fell lightly down her back, catching the light so it sown with beauty.

They kept continuously glaring at each other. I was sure that they hadn't even noticed my presence. That only lasted a single moment.

"Hey. Who's the new girl?" asked the blond one.

"I dunno. Shouldn't you know, Ino-_pig_?," hissed her companion.

"I bet she was trying to get at Sasuke-kun! Well I'm not handing him over to the likes of you, Sakura…" she turned to me. "…nor to the likes of you! Whoever you are!" Ino screeched, throwing herself at me, and blowing me over quickly.

I shrieked in protest as Ino bowled me over. I gritted my teeth and lashed my hand out at her face. I felt my nails make contact with her cheek.

She wailed in protest.

I growled defensively at her.

Ino shot me a death-glare.

I was sure that I saw the slightest change of color in her eyes. As though they'd flashed crimson red for a moment.

I lowered my head and glared back at her.

Ino leapt at me again. This time, it wasn't just some sort of attack from a practice or class; this was an attack that would be used on a real enemy. Ino's teeth were bared and her hands were balled into two, tight fists.

I slid sideways, slamming into something solid. Wooden or stony texture, I think. I just knew that it just wasn't another person.

Ino bowled me over again. I could sense her confidence in her abilities. It was very high, almost too high. I watched her bring her face close to mine as threats or hurtful words began to flow from her mouth.

I wasn't listening and became totally oblivious to this. While I half-listened, I concentrated more on shoving her off me. My right cheek yowled n protest having been decorated with many nail marks. My left knee had also been fashioned with a large plum-colored bruise. I felt my knee collide with something solid and smooth. It shrieked silently with protest and pain. I gritted my teeth.

A high-pitched shriek closely followed the thump of my leg against what sounded or seemed to be an Academy desk.

Ino, who was still kneeling on top of me, so close that I could hear her breathing, turned her head to look at her companion, or more rival.

I pushed Ino off me roughly and stood up to see what those two were gawking at.

I saw that a glass of water had been knocked over and there sat a Sasuke, who was looking much less then happy.

I lower my head in apology. I couldn't see what all the fuss was over anyway. Sasuke barely looked wet, he looked as though he'd just been gently sprayed with some water, barely worth all this shrieking and fuss!

Sakura rounded me with a grim, disgusted look etched on her face, her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"W…what did I do?" I muttered awkwardly.

"You got my poor Sasuke-kun wet and unhappy!" she shrieked in a reply.

"Well, he never looked happy in the first place," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth. I rolled my eyes.

More threats were shot at me. I paid them no notice.

I walked over to the other side of the classroom, not wanting anything else to do with the duo of shrieking fan girls over Sasuke. I looked out the window, deep in thought.

I moved from the Johto region when my parents had died. I had a place there… once… I had friends and a family, but now… I'm alone…

_Latios, you said my place was here! I'm here! So, why do I feel like this? Speak to me! …please… I feel so alone._

I listened to the wind rustle my ponytail through a crack in a window. No words came into my mind.

_Please! Latios! If my place is here, then prove it!_

The only reply to my silent plea was the harsh scraping sound of the classroom door being opened again.

I felt myself become even more skittish (if that's possible) when more and more students began to file in. Most were talking loudly about great battles and war stories that they said that their family members had lived through.

"The fight was so fierce the battleground had been stained a deep red from the blood of my father's enemies!" I heard a male voice say with enthusiasm.

"I have my grandfathers sword. He says it's lucky and will serve me just as well as it served him, like when killed that Cloud Ninja!

"Well, you won't be so lucky when you have to face me and Akamaru!" A nin-dog barked in agreement to his master.

_Can't everyone talk about something else then bloody battles? These are making my head spin…_

I heard the door scrape open again. A young man strolled in. He wore a thick vest or flack jacket of a moss green shade, I'd noticed that most of the village's residents seemed to be wearing. A half-healed scar ran across the bridge of his nose. His hair was a light copper-ish color and tied up in a short, stubby ponytail.

He walked right up to me. Immediately, I shied away. I felt my eyes grow wide with fear. I felt my whole body begin to shake and tremble.

"Naya, isn't it?" he inquired at me.

I nodded blankly, my eyes still stretched wide.

"It's alright." He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. "My name is Iruka and I will be your teacher from here on out."

I nodded, beginning to feel shame burning at my face. How could I've been so frightened by this man? His aura is true and pure.

"Come on. I'll announce your presence to the rest of the class." He took my hand gently.

"Y…you don't have to."

"Come on!" I felt someone give me a push on the back. I whirled around to see a boy with two fang-like tattoos on his checks. He wore a dark gray sweatshirt lined with spiky black fur along the hood.

A white nin-dog was sitting on the top of his head. He had large, pale brown spots on his ears.

"Go on," he urged me.

"That's Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru," Iruka-sensei whispered in my ear.

I nodded and allowed Iruka-sensei lead me to the front of the classroom.

Then Iruka-sensei introduced me to my Academy class. I could hear whispering in the back of the room. A small, blond boy sat at the heart of the whispering.

I watched as Iruka-sensei hurled a large chunk of chalk at the blond boy.

"Naruto! Show some respect!" he barked.

I felt myself shy away from his harsh voice.

_Why do I have to keep shying away from every loud noise or voice? _

"You may return to your seat. You'll share a desk with Hinata Hyuga. I think you will get alone fairly well." Iruka-sensei gave me a gentle push in the right direction.

_'Fairly well'? Why doesn't that ease my mind?_

I slipped in beside the girl that Iruka-sensei had motioned to.

She smiled shyly at me, but I said nothing. It felt like I was going to melt away into the floor.

"G…good morning, N…Naya-chan…" Hinata stammered.

I nodded, my face had a bit more color than before, but not by much.

I sat with Hinata for the rest of the day through the rest of my lessons. She didn't say much, but was none the less very smart and very sweet.

At lunch break, she invited me to eat with her outside and she would introduce me to all the other students in the class. I was more than happy to accept.

Hinata's so brilliant! She'll always be my friend.


	4. Anxiety and Trembling

I blinked fiercely to re-focus myself to the current time. I glanced over at Hinata, who appeared to be shaking from head to foot. Her pale eyes were stretched wide open. Her small, pale hands trembled.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. She turned and smiled back at me.

I nodded toward her to say. "You're going to do just fine".

I slid the door to our classroom open and strode inside with Hinata following closely. I noticed that the only occupant in the room was Sasuke. No surprise to me, he's always there first one there.

I looked at the blackboard. I saw the words 'GRADUATION EXAM TODAY' inscribed upon its surface in large, capital letters. I felt my stomach twist.

I noticed Sasuke move into the desk right below the one that we were sitting at. I peered at his face, hoping for some clues. His emotions revealed nothing, like usual.

_Maybe he just wanted a change of pace from all his squealing fangirls. I know that I would._

Completely ignoring the fact, I put my hand into my schoolbag and pulled out a scroll that I had put together to study for the graduation exam. I began to look over it with Hinata, starting with the clone jutsu.

_Everyone says that the clone jutsu is always on the test_.

As I completely focused on studying the replacement technique, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I glanced up and saw a small piece of parchment, folded in half, sitting on the corner of my scroll. I opened it quickly.

All it said on the inside was, _"I hope you pass, Naya." _I scanned the paper again quickly for a name but there was none. Instead, at the bottom was, _"meet me in down by the dock at six. Come alone" _

Whoever had sent the note had good handwriting, I'll give them that. I noticed that the led to the pencil had been very fine and sharp, as though it had been brand-new.

_But, no one has used the electric sharpener in the corner since I had come in. _

A moment later, I realized that would hardly matter. Students brought hands-sharpeners with them all the time, not to mention that the note could've been written hours or days before.

I thumped myself on the head for forgetting that.

I glanced at Hinata to see if she'd noticed who'd tapped me, but she was looking at the classroom door again.

Standing on the threshold was no other then the number one knucklehead ninja. He was wearing his normal orange jumpsuit, which, in my opinion, made him look like a target. His normal, spiky, blond hair seemed even more spiky today.

I felt Hinata turn her head toward Naruto. I'd learned that she'd had a huge crush on Naruto since the day we met. I could feel her body heat up, and I could tell that Hinata blushing uncontrollably, as she would normally do whenever Naruto so much as looked at her.

Slowly, all the other students filed into the classroom, filling the desks. Soon, like normal, all the girls besides for Hinata and I were all swarming around Sasuke. Soon it became too loud to continue to study, so Hinata and me moved to the other side of the classroom.

"Crazy, aren't they?" I whispered to Hinata.

"So it would seem. They are acting kind of silly," she whispered.

"They're acting like a love-struck yearling doe," I muttered to myself. "Prancing around him like that. It makes me feel nauseous."

At last, Iruka-sensei arrived and began to address the class. From behind his small, raised podium, his voice rang out strongly. "Now today, the graduation exam will be on, the clone jutsu."

I heard a loud groan, and turned to see Naruto had banged his head on the desk at the mentioning of the clone jutsu. His eyes looked almost out of focus as they spun with annoyance.

"Leave it to Iruka-sensei to hit me in my weak spots for my graduation test," I heard Naruto grumble crossly.

_Poor Naruto. He's always struggled with that jutsu_… _Not to mention the rumors that he's taken and failed it several times prior…_

"Poor Naruto," Hinata whispered. "I wish there was some way to help him."

I nodded, only half listening. The hand seals for the jutsu in question were repeating themselves over and over through my mind.

_I will pass today, no matter what!_

My ambition filled up my lower stomach and sharpened my focus and drive for glory.

"When your name is called, please report to the testing room." Iruka-sensei finished. "For now, you may use this time to study, read, whatever, so long as it's quiet." He shot a warning glare at Naruto and Kiba. "I have to go the testing room. Good luck to you all." And with that, he left in a light puff of smoke.

I was way too nervous to sit still, called out Espeon, and began to groom her. The presence of my partner and her sound of her satisfied purrs and mews were just what I needed to calm my frayed nerves.

The first name to be called was Shino, who was followed five minuets later by Choji.

"Come on! Why does my name have be at the end of the alphabet!" I muttered irritably. My full name was Naya Uchiha. Though it gave me more time to study, I was too nervous to sit still and quiet like my normal self.

The third Hokage had just told me that my bloodline was pure Uchiha, and that my real parents had died, and I had been sent to an orphanage away from the ninja world. I slipped my hand into my satchel, and pulled out a small black box and opened it. Last night, the Third Hokage had called me to his home for a talk. He had told me of my entire bloodline trait, and my whole history. My real parents had been of the middle class. Since they didn't have any living family members, the elders of Konoha had thought it best for me to grow up away from all the aspects and dangers of ninja life. So I was sent to the Johto region.

The couple that had adopted me from the orphanage owned a small egg-ranch towards the outer part of New Bark town. They mainly bred eevees and it's evolutions, as well as ponyta and it's evolved form, rapidash. Then, when I turned ten, I started my journey with Espeon as my partner.

Inside the little black box was a small, gold locket. In the shape of the Uchiha crest, on one side it was delicately painted to the same colors that where on Sasuke's shirt's crest. Scarlet on the top part of the crest, and white on the lower part by the stick where one would hold and gripe it if it were real. I slipped it over my head, and began to think about the Uchiha clan.

"Hyuga Hinata!" Iruka-sensei's voice rang over the speaker in the classroom, scattering my thoughts.

"Good luck, Hinata!" I whispered to Hinata who slipped out of her seat by the window, and left.

I noticed that Hinata was shaking from head to toe. She had put her left pointer in front of her lip much like she did when she was uneasy or frightened. I completely understood this. Hinata was the heir to the main household of the Hyuga clan, and if she failed this exam, she'd never live it down. When I had visited the Hyuga complex to bring Hinata her academy homework when she was sick a few months ago. When she'd been there, she noticed many medics running about, and it gave her a slightest feeling that Hinata's future role would be vital to her clan. Then, she told me the whole future that was laid out for her. It seemed sort of unfair.

Shino, Choji, and Sakura where the only students that I could remember leaving the room before Hinata. I was frightened out of my wits for my turn. Would I do okay? Would I even be called at all? After all, I was the under dog to pass, and I hadn't nearly as much experience as all the other students. What if Iruka-sensei had just decided to have me do the whole course over again to get me ready for the next time? Would he do that? NEVER! Iruka-sensei would NEVER do that! But what if the Hokage ordered him to do so? That would be different!

I knew Espeon could feel all my unease.

I felt all my emotions whirling at rapid speed.

I felt Espeon's soft tongue on my cheek. She smiled at me.

I looked up, "Thanks, Espeon. You've always been there for me when I need you the most. You've always understood me. Thank you, my friend," I whispered sweetly into Espeon's ear. Espeon purred with satisfaction to these words.

As time passed, the seconds felt like minuets, and the minuets felt like hours. Five minuets after Hinata had left, Inuzuka Kiba was called to the testing room. Fifteen minuets passed, and Nara Shikamaru was called. Twenty more minuets, and then a voice rang out, "Uchiha Naya!"


	5. Final Exam

I stayed still for a moment, petrified for the exam. I quickly glanced over at Sasuke, who's face showed nothing aside from his normal, cold expression. I took a deep breath and called Espeon to my side, lifted and slung my bag over my right shoulder, and began to walk. To me, it felt as though I was in a daze or a genjutsu. So much of my future would be decided over this one test. The thought made my bones chill. I knew Espeon could sense that as well.

As I made my way down the hallway to the testing room, there were many sensations twisting around in my mind, and I couldn't decide how I was feeling. Nervous? Scared? Excited? Uneasy? Worried? Yes, all of those emotions running high inside my mind. Shooting around like a blur of color. While in my stomach, it felt as though there was a giant ball of ice, ice that hissed and frothed, like a potion in a fairytale. It felt as though I was going to be sick at any given moment.

But before I could make any sense of all these sensations, I'd reached the testing room. Silently, I slid the door open and proceeded inside.

On one end, there was a line of desks, behind which Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei, and even the Hokage, sat. On the surface of one table were rows and rows of brand new, leaf shinobi headbands.

"Okay then, Naya," addressed Iruka-sensei. "All you have to do is to perform the clone jutsu, and produce up to three clones. Simple as that."

_Simple?_ I thought flatly. _Sure, you can say that's it's simple. Easy for you to say, you've been doing this for ages! I've just been doing it for about a year and a half! Humph! _

Only a gentle nudge from Espeon's muzzle could clear my mind.

"Thanks," I whispered to them. I moved her hands into the hand sign and let my voice ring out brimming with confidence, "Clone Jutsu!"

There was a puff of smoke and then next to me stood three other, perfect clones of myself. Espeon began to purr in an amused way. I still was feeling uneasy though.

_Do I have to do more then everyone else to prove that I was ready to become a shinobi?_

I looked up to Iruka-sensei, to see him, Mizuki, and the Third Hokage smiling and applauding me.

"Well done, Naya!" praised Iruka-sensei. "Very well done!"

All I could do was smile, and blink with gratitude.

"Come here, Naya," instructed Iruka-sensei, holding out a headband. "You've done well. Keep going, and I'm sure that you will strive to even bigger dreams and goals in your near future,"

I was completely shocked at my sensei's words. I'd never expected that I'd do so well. This was the filling of my daydreaming fantasies; I'd never considered them as a reality. "Th…thank you," I stammered, taking the headband from Iruka-sensei. I lifted it and tied it around my head, securing it beneath my ponytail. I pulled at my feathered bangs, so they hung over the metal piece of my headband. The longer locks of hair hung to the sides of my face, over my headband. I dipped her head to my senseis and the Hokage, and moved back towards the door. Instantly, Espeon rose to her paws and followed me without hesitation.

As I turned around, she heard Iruka-sensei pick-up the microphone and say into it, "Uchiha Sasuke!"

I slid open the door to the hallway, to see Sasuke make his way up the hall to the testing room. I acknowledged him like normal, by dipping my head to him. But Sasuke stopped me by standing in my path, his eyes leering into my face and my new forehead protector.

"I never knew that you where an Uchiha member. Why didn't you ever tell me?" he demanded. His eyes were almost chilling he was so serious.

_Is he jealous?_

I took a step back. I could feel fear within me from his cold and serious gaze. I lifted and leveled my head before I replied. "I just found out last night, I had no time to tell you, without taking the chance of being "put in my place" again," I replied smoothly.

"Hey, Sasuke!" called Iruka-sensei from inside the testing room. "We haven't got all day! Hurry up!"

"Hn. See you later, Naya," muttered Sasuke, I was sure I saw a mysterious spark in his eye and took a guess that it had been him who gave her the piece of parchment. I blew out a long breath of relief that the exam was finally over.

I raced out to the schoolyard, which was where the rest of the students who'd passed where waiting. Immediately, I spotted Hinata who was sitting on a little stone bench by the wall of the academy gardens.

"Oh, Naya," whispered Hinata. "You graduated? I'm glad,"

"Thanks, Hinata," I replied, sitting down beside her.

We both sat in silence, listening and enjoying to peace. I was daydreaming of myself shooting through the forest on some mission. Confidence brimming within my heart and Espeon at my side.

I heard the door leading back into the academy slide open. I glanced up, my mind still lulled by my fantasy dream. It was Sasuke who stepped out. It didn't surprise me that he'd passed. But as soon as he stepped outside, his rabid mob of fan girls charged him with a group tackle. All their high-pitched shrieks and squeals shattered my daydream completely. I sighed.

Soon the last of the academy students finished the test and came out to the schoolyard, who where flanked by Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei, and the third Hokage. I noticed the Naruto trudging slowly behind them. I also noticed that he didn't even try to be accepted by the rest of the students, but instead just sat down on a tree swing. And no one even tried to cheer him up. I could tell that he'd failed the test, and I felt bad for him.

I heard two girls whispering scornfully together.

"There, you see him?"

"It's that boy. I heard that he's the only one who failed."

"Well, it serves him right! Just imagine what would happen if _he _became a _ninja_. I mean, he's the vessel for the—"

"Shh! We're not allowed to talk about that."

I felt pity and sympathy wearing away at my conscience.

_What's he the vessel for? I've never known. Now that I think about it, we skipped a huge section in our history textbook. Maybe there—no! I can't do that! We turned them in yesterday after the written exam!_

_Well, textbook or not, being in oblivion gives me no right to be scornful to Naruto as well. In fact, I have to say that I admire him. He's grown up alone and yet he has that much spunk. I think that's what makes a person strong, aside from protecting people they care about._

"Hey, Naruto," I called quietly across the schoolyard. I moved closer, "Are you okay?"

"Why would you care?" snapped Naruto harshly. "Why would you try to cheer me up? Why not run off with all your other friends?"

I recoiled quickly. I felt a bit hurt, I knew that he'd had a hard life and no one really liked him, but I'd thought that he'd react a bit more willingly than this.

"Because I think that I could help you with your clone jutsu. Hinata and me," I ventured quietly.

"Yeah, Naruto," whispered Hinata, blushing. She came up to stand beside me.

"Hey there, you two," said a voice behind Hinata and me. We turned around to see Mizuki-sensei. "Don't worry about Naruto. He'll recover in time. You two can go on home now," Mizuki-sensei pushed past us.


	6. 6:00 on the Dock

Later that afternoon, at 5:50, I headed down to the dock. As I drew closer to the dock, I released Espeon from her poke ball. She stood by me as loyally as a dog from the Inuzuka clan. Her ears drew up, giving her a dignified look.

When we reached the dock, I saw a dark shape sitting on the end of the dock. My hazel eyes turned crystal blue. I saw the aura of the person on the bridge. It was Sasuke.

"So it was him who sent the note," I whispered.

A question stirred in my mind.

_Why? Why would he invite me here? What am I to him? I barely even know him and he barely knows me. _

My eyes flickered back to hazel. I walked down the dock, and sat down beside him. Espeon sat down beside me.

Sasuke looked up at me and said, "Glad you came, Naya. I was originally going to ask you something about Johto, but now there's something more important to discuss. The Uchiha clan."

_I don't think that part's true…_

"I thought that was coming. Okay then. What about?" I asked.

"First of all, who where your parents?" inquired Sasuke, in his same, cold way. "Mine were Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha." Suddenly, Sasuke began to look at me very differently. He wore a puzzled sort of look with his brow furrowed.

I stared back at him in confusion.

"What's wrong?" I asked confused.

"You…you looked a lot like my mother," he stammered, which was one thing that I had never seen him do at all. "You sort of remind me of her. Not only appearance, her temperament was a lot like yours. She was sweet-tempered, helpful, supportive, and warm-hearted as well."

I wasn't quite sure what to say next, Sasuke had caught me so off guard. I was glad that I was making Sasuke calm and relaxed. But still, what am I supposed to say next?

And since when had he ever been able to assess my team skills? We've never talked together, let along worked together. Has he been watching me? Marking me down as a person who has no talent and shouldn't even bother giving his 'glorious' time to? Nah. I don't think Sasuke's like that.

"Anyway," Sasuke said, snapping me out of my long trance of thought. "Who were your parents?"

"Er—I think their names were Akaya and Ryuu," I mumbled.

"You _think_?" Sasuke responded critically.

"The Sandaime said that my history was very patchy because the Yondaime was trying to keep it down to a dull roar and he erased all the traces of my family tree so, I really don't know. Those two are the best guesses that anyone has," I mumbled, feeling a bit ashamed of not even knowing my own parents. "But, they were fine shinobi. Both were well respected Jonin, they worked along side your brother, if memory serves—oh! I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I didn't mean to—" I didn't continue.

Sasuke seemed a little taken aback, perhaps a bit infuriated, but then relaxed and whispered "It's okay, Naya, You haven't been thinking about. You must've just learned that he had killed off the Uchiha clan last night."

I nodded. I could see could feel that Sasuke was enraged about the mention of his brother_._ I watched in sorrow and guilt as Sasuke dropped his head.

"I will avenge my family. It's not a question of _if _it's a question of _when_," Sasuke murmured.

"What?" I murmured.

Sasuke didn't reply.

_Oh! Avenging the Uchiha clan! But, is violence really the right path to take?_

"But still, moving on. Does the ninja life feel easy, hard, or anything to what you were used too?" asked Sasuke, changing the subject.

"The survival exercises are pretty easy, because I've had some experience with it when I was a trainer. Plus, I know how to heal most scratches, gashes, and simple illnesses with commonly found herbs," I replied, reaching into my satchel, and pulling out a small, sectioned pouch. Inside were small stacks of labeled herbs.

"Well, I guess that would be useful to know," commented Sasuke. "Especially when you're on a survival mission."

"Just asking, why did you invite me here?" I ventured cautiously. I quickly became aware of my cheeks turning a bright, rosy pink in the fading day's sun.

"Well, since the first day at you came to the academy, I had wanted to learn some more about you," muttered Sasuke. "But I didn't come close to you, since I could tell that you're the type of person who doesn't enjoy making the same mistake twice."

His aura jumped and his flow changed.

"I can tell that's not true, Sasuke," I murmured quietly, narrowing my eyes.

"How could you tell that?" challenged Sasuke, coldly.

"Aura," I replied simply but with an ominous twist to my answer.

"Aura?" Sasuke echoed.

"It's and ability that I learned in Johto. It allows me to sense the auras of all living things, as well as being able to know if they're lying. My maximum distance that I can see is about two miles in any direction. If an aura guardian has had sometime to get a good look at another, their aura will become clearer. It's like studying. Otherwise, the aura will just take on the shape of the object or person, and will look blurry. This will always work, even if the user is blindfolded," I explained. I knew that I must really sound like a complete know-it-all. But I was glad to know something that Sasuke didn't.

Sasuke continued to look at me as I babbled on, nodding from time to time. I could see his eyes lined with interest.

I continued. "Other abilities of aura are, the ability to read minds, memories, break people out of trances, and use telepathy. As well as create barriers to yield from attacks, and produce the attack, "aura sphere". Finally, the user, if they has completely mastered the techniques, can transfer their aura to other people and Pokémon, but it is also fatal to the user."

"Well that explains a lot," said Sasuke, who seemed to understand the subject much better.

"Good," I replied.

"Could I see the attack, aura sphere?" inquired Sasuke.

"Sure, that'll be easy," I murmured, standing up. I moved into my ready stance. I bent both my knees slightly and slightly lowered my head. " Aura sphere, Let's go!"

I brought her palms close together, as a mystic light began to appear between my palms. I could feel the energy swirling around in a sphere-like shape, like as though I was holding an orb of light. I moved my left hand from the top, and brought it into a guarding position, so that I was holding the sphere of swirling blue light in my right palm. I swung my right arm around and launched the aura sphere across the water, spinning rapidly. The bright blue orb spiraled into the bank on the far end of the lake and disappeared.

"Does it require chakra?"

"No, that's why it's a really useful attack to have in my arsenal." I sat back down again.

"Is it the aura ability teachable, or is it a bloodline trait?" I sensed some curiosity in his tone.

"It's teachable. Why? Did you want to learn to use the power of your aura?"

"Well, I just thought that it would be a useful attack to have the ability to use. Not to mention that the 'aura-eye' would be really useful on a mission," stated Sasuke without any emotion or guilt of confronting me for help.

"Well, I can teach you to use it. Your aura sets just right for you to become a guardian. I haven't seen that in any of the other academy students. And, I would be willing to take you on to become my apprentice. But it will require you to be devoted and your willingness to learn," I explained. "Well, Sasuke. What do you think?"

There was a single moment of silence that Sasuke consumed to his thoughts. I already could guess what was going through his head. Whether it was worth putting his quest for vengeance against his older brother aside to learn.

"Fine," he finally replied.

"Okay then. Meet me in the park in two days at dawn," I told him, briskly.

"Why so early?" inquired Sasuke, again, emotionless and guilt–free, despite asking something that he might believe that he should know.

"It's always easier to focus in the either the early morning or at dusk. When it's cooler and you can hear the night creatures sing. It's really quite calming," I explained.

"Fine."

"Kay', good," I replied. I glanced up to find that the sky was a dark midnight blue, and its surface was littered with silver stars. "It's getting late. Maybe we should go."

"Hn. Right," whispered Sasuke. He turned and walked half of the dock back to the shore, but then stopped. "I hope we get put on the same team," he muttered.

I gasped silently inside my mind.

_Sasuke would want to be on the same team as __**me?**_

"Yeah... Good night, Sasuke," I called back.

As I followed, watching him go. I felt a strong feeling or rush of kinship toward him. As though we'd been friends forever. As though, it was destiny that Sasuke and I would be friends. I never want to lose this feeling.


	7. Spare Day

Espeon began to stir at the foot of my bed, waking me. I sat up slowly, blinking sleep from my eyes.

Espeon yawned and stretched.

"Morning girl," I whispered to her.

Espeon pricked her ears forward and smiled.

For the first time in a long time, I felt a strange sense of freedom. I could do whatever I wanted now. I didn't have class and I wasn't sick.

I felt a warm wave of relaxation wash over me.

_The whole day for Espeon and me to do…whatever. I haven't felt this ever since I was a trainer a lifetime ago. Training, herb collecting, aura building-it doesn't matter! So long as I have my partner with me. _

I gazed endearingly at Espeon, who returned it. Her beautiful eyes sparkled.

"What do you want to do today, Espeon?" I inquired, quickly began aware that I hadn't the slightest idea of what to do with 24 hours to ourselves a few moments prior to by question.

"Whatever you want to do, Naya," she replied.

I sighed. "Espeon, you know I hate that answer…" I grumbled.

"Well, you're the trainer!" she replied, flicking her tail at me flatly. "You're supposed to be making these decisions, you know!"

"Thanks for that…" I replied sarcastically.

"Your welcome!" she mewed shamelessly and innocently.

"Let's take a walk, some ideas might to us then," I suggested.

"Alright!" Espeon leapt up from the bed and playfully latched onto my shoulder.

I grunted. "Espeon! You know that you've gotten too big to do that anymore!"

"Heehee! I know! It's just fun to watch you blow your top!" Espeon brushed her cheek against mine and jumped to the floor.

I looked at her. "Not pleased," I muttered. Then I smiled and nudged her in the ribs with my foot, sending her rolling over.

Espeon jumped to her paws and bristled. "Why didn't I see that coming?" she hissed.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" I laughed.

Espeon rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she muttered.

"Might as well take a walk," I murmured, getting up. "C'mon!"

Konoha felt cool and calm to me, considering that most of its noise was in check, either at school or on a mission. Familiar faces met and beamed at Espeon and me as we strolled through Konoha.

I picked out Hinata's cousin, Neji among three other people. Two were dressed completely identically, their outfits consisting of a tight, green jumpsuit and a scarlet piece of cloth tied around their waists like a belt. I could see their shinobi plates mounted upon it. The more senior looking member wore a chunin flack jacket. Their backs were toward me so I couldn't see their faces.

The final member of the team was a female. I could see a pale pink, silk top with very short sleeves. Accompanied by dark green pants. She had dark brown hair in two, very tight buns on each side of her head.

I passed without a word, not wanting to be noticed. When I had met Neji yesterday, he didn't seem the type to take new friends easily, much like Sasuke.

I could see Kiba and Akamaru chasing each other around the pond in the park, while Shikamaru lay dozing in the fork of a tree.

_No surprises here…_

"Well, Espeon. What do you think we should do?" I asked my partner.

"Well, you promised Sasuke a lesson in the aura tomorrow, so might as well think up a lesson plan," she replied.

"I've thought about that," I replied. "First, I want to see how well he can calm his nerves and build on his aura's power. I'll go from there."

Espeon rolled her eyes.

"You know that's not much of a plan, Naya," she muttered, flexing her ears to add to her exasperated expression.

"Yeah, yeah," I dismissed passively.

Espeon bowed down quickly and wagged her tail twice before lunging at me with her quick attack. I dodged narrowly as my partner zoomed a few inches above my head.

_**I'll add more Later...**_


	8. First Lessons

The next morning, I got up early, when the clouds where still a light gray, and the sky was a light shade of indigo blue. I swung myself out of bed without hesitation.

To me, my morning rituals seemed to take less time then usual. I guessed that it was because I couldn't contain my unusual bursts of energy for today's orientation, and that this was the way I was going to burn them off.

I tied my forehead protector back on. All at once, I felt a great surge of pride wash over me.

_This is my day! My day to show what I've got in store for my new team! I won't waste it! I promise, Latios. _

When I reached the park, I noticed that I was a little ahead of time. I sat down in a cross-legged fashion. I felt my body relax and my aura's power begin to glow.

Sasuke arrived only a few minuets after me. He dipped his head curtly at me. "Morning," I replied quietly. I began to ponder within my mind.

_Sasuke had never acting like this in the academy. Was I getting to him? Or was this his true nature? Doesn't matter now. As long as he's giving his all as my apprentice, that all I care about… but I'd still like to know more about the Uchiha clan. But perhaps, those answers were the kind that I'd have to discover for myself. _

"I think I should warn you early on. This mentoring session isn't going to be very active. For now, well's just have to get you used to calming yourself down at any given moment, because you'll have to be pretty relaxed when you begin to sense aura," I started.

"Okay, then..."

"First," I was feeling a bit uneasy about teaching the best rookie of the year. And Sasuke was always so relaxed at any given moment, as though he'd done it countless times. I didn't understand why this made me tick a bit.

"Okay then, the first thing you should do is to think of something or time that relaxes you," I said quietly. I was wondering of what Sasuke would put forth, because I had never seen him look really happy or relieved…ever.

"I don't have any times when I was really happy or relaxed out of those that I can remember. I never had a happy time in my life."

"Really? I can see a few things that might fall into the category. Let me show you," I offered.

Sasuke nodded quietly.

I looked deep through his memories, and found the one that I believed would fit the category well. It looked as though Sasuke was no older then seven.

Sasuke was standing on the same dock that we'd met on yesterday. Another man stood behind him, he looked slightly similar. _Was that his father? _His back was turned to Sasuke and the crest on his back was completely visible. I heard him mutter, "that's my boy," to Sasuke, who smiled brightly.

I could feel Sasuke's aura calm and his body relax. I was relieved. During my time at the academy I had never seen him looked actually happy or relaxed ever.

_That's good. I think that Sasuke's going to turn into a fine guardian of the aura. So long as he can keep focused, I have high hopes for him. _

"Very good Sasuke. You're relaxed and your mind is clear," I said quietly. "Now the next step can take a while. I want you to meditate and try and build up your aura's power and focus. Try using different hand signs. The one that works the best for you often correspond with your aura's color and energy. For you, your aura's color is a cool sky blue. If I were you, I'd try the tiger sign first."

"Fine," Sasuke replied in his normal cold manner. He sat cross-legged, made the tiger sign at the center of his chest, bowed his head, and closed his eyes.

I watched Sasuke carefully_. _I could also feel the power of his aura growing steadily stronger. The progress was slow but unmistakable. I thought back to the days when I had recently started trying to build my aura's power. It had taken much more time them this. Was Sasuke a prodigy at this, as well as being a shinobi?

"How am I doing so far?" he muttered to me.

"Very well, considering that you just started today," I replied. I paused, and then continued. "It took me **ages** to get the hang of it."

Sasuke said nothing, but returned to meditating.

I looked up to see the sun was peaking over the mountain with the carvings of the previous Hokage, and the air was beginning to warm up as the morning mist vanished. I could feel the morning growing warmer. It felt magnificent!

"It's getting late, we should probably go," I suggested to Sasuke. I didn't wish to leave the park when the morning air felt so good just to go and sit in a classroom. But, I also really desired to see who was on my squad.

"Okay," Sasuke agreed quietly. I could detect some rebellion within his voice. It's only natural to have the desire to stay here longer.

Sasuke and me were the first two students to the classroom. I took a seat by the window, while Sasuke sat in the row below me. We sat in silence.

I gazed out the window. The sky had turned from its former pale blossom-pink color to a sweet misty blue color. The small wisps of clouds seemed to make the image I was viewing that much more beautiful.

Soon, the other graduating genin filed into the room. I instantly picked Hinata out from the back of the group that was filing in. She was wearing her headband around her neck.

"I…I hope we get into the same group together," whispered Hinata, sitting down beside me.

"Yeah, me too."

_Hinata, Sasuke, and me—that doesn't seem like a very balanced team, so I don't think that we'll be put together…_

Twenty minuets later, Naruto filed into the room, and sat down in the row with Sasuke. But didn't say or look at him. I noticed that he was also wearing a leaf shinobi headband, though it did look a little beaten and worn. I noticed some of the threads on the fabric had come unraveled, giving the headband a very worn look to it.

_I wonder what happened to his headband._ I turned to Hinata and nudged her gently. "Hey, Naruto graduated too," I whispered.

"I'm glad," whispered Hinata, almost silently, blushing.

Wonder why Naruto choose to sit near Sasuke. I, and nearly everyone else in the academy, knew for a fact that Naruto and Sasuke loathed each other. And also that Naruto used a picture of Sasuke for kunai and shuriken target practice at home.

I leaned back in her chair and called out Espeon. I took out a soft, bristle brush, and began to groom Espeon. I'd always enjoyed the sound of Espeon's purring when I groomed her.

I continued to groom Espeon until I heard a violent thundering of two people's feet in the hall outside the classroom. I looked up in time to hear a giant crash. I looked to the sense and saw that Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno barged into the classroom, at the same time. To me, it looked as though they had been racing, and had tried to leap through the small door at the same time.

"GOAL!" they both screamed, and began to breathe very hard.

I knew that Ino and Sakura had been best friends and fierce rivals for ages, and they both disagreed over almost everything these days.

Ino was dressed in her normal purple outfit with her new headband tied around her waist. Her pale golden hair was tied up in her normal high ponytail, which highlighted her pale blue eyes.

Sakura was dressed in her red dress with side vents that was lined with white around the edges as well as white rings on the sleeves, and down by her knees. Her hair, mid-length, cascading down her back, and was a bright pink color like cherry blossoms, which she was named after. Her bangs were tied back with the navy blue headband, which clashed well with her eyes, which were a vivid green.

"I win again, Sakura!" taunted Ino.

"You've got to be kidding, my toe was at least a tenth of an inch ahead of yours!" retorted Sakura, hotly. "Everyone saw it!"

"Oh really? Then why was I the one who entered the room first?" hissed Ino.

But Sakura wasn't listening. She was gazing at Sasuke. But apparently, Naruto thought that she was looking at him, and promptly leapt up to greet her. Only to be knocked aside by Sakura rushing to see Sasuke.

"Umm. Good morning, Sasuke," she whispered, blushing furiously. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Back off, billboard-brow!" yowled Ino to Sakura. "He's mine!"

"I was here first!" protested Sakura, angrily.

"I walked into the classroom before you! Everyone saw!" Ino spat.

"Dream on!" hissed another girl in the class.

"Well if it's like that. I was here before any of you!" spat another girl.

Soon all the girls in the class, besides for Hinata and me, were all bickering over who would sit next to Sasuke. I'd always hated how every girl in the class would debate every morning, afternoon, and nearly ever second of our lives over whom would sit next to Sasuke.

_I know Sasuke is a great shinobi, but come on! It was sort of stupid to debate so much over who would sit next to Sasuke for a single morning! And when Iruka-sensei made us get into partners for taijutsu class, he'd always have to pre-assign partners so that the process of picking partners wouldn't take all day._

"Clueless," I heard Sasuke mutter under his breath.

I second that.

"Can't a girl get five minuets of peace and quiet around here?" I muttered irritably.

There was a scuffling sound, and a few footstep sounds. I looked up to see that Naruto had climbed up on the desk and was holding his face about one inch from Sasuke's, and he was wearing an expression of utter disgust at Sasuke.

Sasuke mirrored it with his own signature of scorn and dislike toward Naruto.

"I smell trouble," I muttered quietly to myself.

There was another wave of bickering from the crowd of fan girls that were observing Sasuke and Naruto's skirmish. I sighed. I knew trouble was coming, and I didn't need my aura to sense _that_ trouble.

I sighed. I wished that I had as much guts as Naruto.

"Alright! This great!" spoke a male voice that I didn't recognize.

There was a thump, and then it all went dead silent. I looked up to see something of most irregularity, and began to wish that I hadn't looked.

Naruto and Sasuke had once been about one and a half inches from each other's faces, now they were zero inches from each other and staring at each other with more loathing then could have ever been imagined. They pulled away as soon as they had recovered from the shock of the last second's event, and broke into a fit of coughing and sputtering.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh, get mad or just scream. But the fact lodged itself in the back of my mind that doing any of the above wouldn't help matters at all. One way or another, I had to admit that it had been fairly amusing. Only for a moment though.

"My mouth's gonna rot!" Naruto moaned pathetically.

"Curse you, Naruto!" hissed Sasuke.

"Danger," whispered Naruto, looking toward the group of the fan girls who were wearing expressions of utter disgust and loathing.

I sensed an instant chill in the air. All the auras of the other girls present within the classroom had gone utterly cold.

I felt my muscles tense, and the hairs on the back of my neck lift with anticipation and unease. I turned away, but I was unsuccessful to block the sound of the group of fan girls beating up Naruto.

When I looked again, I saw Naruto all beaten up by all the fan girls in the class, and Naruto appeared exhausted so much, that steam was issuing from his wounds. I could see Hinata watching Naruto with a concerned expression on her face.

_Hurry up, Iruka-sensei! I hate it when Sasuke and Naruto start a skirmish. It's scary. _


	9. What Fate has Chosen

I watched the other students filed in, in groups of three and four. Though some hadn't been present during Sasuke's most embarrassing moment of his life, I'm sure, but the news of that incident had been spread like a wildfire. A large space that was absent of students had formed it's self around Naruto. Hinata and me were some of the few that would sit near him. We hadn't moved since we'd entered the classroom. I actually preferred things this way. It was quiet for once!

A few moments later, Iruka-sensei arrived and began to address the class. I noticed his headband to see that it look brand new, reflecting the sunlight.

"As of today, you are all ninja. To get here, you've all had to face challenges and hardships. But that's nothing. Now you're all genin, first level ninja. All the genin will be grouped into thee-man squads. Each squad will be lead by a Jonin, an elite ninja," explained Iruka-sensei.

I heard Ino and Sakura begin to bicker over who would be in Sasuke's squad.

"Clueless," I heard Sasuke mutter again.

"We wanted the squads to have a balance of strengths and abilities, so that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads," said Iruka-sensei. I listened quietly, waiting for my name to be called.

"Now, squad seven. Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha…"

_Well, I guess I won't be part of Sasuke's squad. Not that I wouldn't want to, it's just that there'd be quarreling every minute of our lives over the simplest of things. Naruto insulting Sasuke and trying to pick fights with him. Sakura, with all her flirting with Sasuke and her yowling at Naruto for nothing. Sometimes I think that Sakura just enjoys harassing Naruto. If I were on that squad, my ears would be ringing from the constant barking at each other. I wouldn't get another moment of silence in my life!_

"… Naya Uchiha," announced Iruka sensei.

_WHAT? _I cocked her head at Iruka-sensei with a confused look across my face, but straightened up quickly. _I must've missed something. I must be the first member of squad eight. No sweat...I hope._

"Now, squad eight. Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame," called Iruka-sensei.

_What?_ _He called squad eight after me, so that means that..._I thought with dismay at the only answer that could be logical to this situation. _…I'm a member of squad seven! Wait! This CAN'T be happening! There's only supposed to be three members on a squad…right? Please be right!_

During my overly dramatized and panicked fantasies that I hoped would never become reality, I realized that I'd missed the assignments for squad nine.

_That's real swell, Naya! Way to go!_

"Now, squad ten. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi," announced Iruka-sensei.

I heard a thump, and looked up to see that Ino had dropped her head on to the table upon the announcement of her squad.

"Those are all the squads," finished Iruka-sensei, rolling up the piece of parchment that all the squads had been recorded on.

"Iruka-sensei!" protested Naruto, leaping to his feet. "Why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group with a slug like Sasuke?"

Sakura scowled.

"Sasuke had the best grades of all the graduating students. Naruto, you had the worst scores. To create a balanced group, we put the best student with the worst student," explained Iruka-sensei. I could detect a bit of irritation in his voice.

"Just make sure you don't become a burden to me, loser," warned Sasuke quietly to a growling Naruto. To me, Naruto's spiky, blond hair seemed to be bristled like a porcupine's quills.

"Hey! What'd you say?" snapped Naruto sharply.

"Hard of hearing?" Sasuke quietly taunted Naruto again.

"Knock it off Naruto! Sit down!" hissed Sakura.

_To think, that's such a joyful squad,_ I thought sarcastically.

"After lunch, you'll meet your new Jonin teachers, until then, class dismissed," Iruka-sensei announced.

I waited until everyone else had left, before approaching Iruka-sensei's desk. But again, I had that weird feeling inside my stomach. Was it fear? Uneasiness? Nervousness? But, why should I be feeling this way when I was just going to speak to my sensei? It just isn't natural!

"Umm… Iruka-sensei?" I began, hesitantly.

"Yes, what is it, Naya?" he replied.

"I'm a little confused about which group I'm in. Am I part of squad seven?" I asked quietly.

"You are part of squad seven." I sensed his patience withering away.

"But wouldn't that give us an unfair advantage? Since you said that they would be _three_-man squads."

_What am I doing? Any other girl in the whole school would say that I'm out of my mind even questioning that I might not want to be in a squad with Sasuke! But… I'm not like the other girls. Yes. I'm extremely sure of that. But who cares about their opinions on my actions? This is something that a bad judgment would mean nothing to the mission itself. _

"I didn't set the squads up. Lord Hokage did, so if you have any questions or complaints. Go to him," explained Iruka-sensei, bending down to file some papers in his desk.

"Okay, but still why?" I protested. The tone in my voice seemed to be begging for a straight answer. "Why put me with such skilled ninjas?"

_I know that I'll __**never**__ keep up. Not even with Naruto, _I added to myself.

"Apparently, Lord Hokage thought it would be the benefit of the whole squad. Your job is to keep everyone in his or her place. Stop any feuds between Naruto and Sasuke or Sakura and Naruto, and to keep Sakura on task rather then flirting with Sasuke. And, I think that you can tell as well as me, that Sasuke's quest for revenge on his older brother will most likely get in the way of the team's cooperation. Not to mention, to complete these tasks, you'll need to begin standing up for yourself, which I think you will benefit greatly from," explained Iruka-sensei.

"Ahhh. I think I understand," I replied with great due respect, while faking smile. _This is going to be painful!_

"Good," smiled Iruka-sensei. "Dismissed."

I left the classroom, as I did, I released Espeon from her poke ball. I awakened my 'aura-eye', and began to watch the events the where taking place around the schoolyard. Immediately, I spotted Naruto, but I cocked my head at the vision that I was seeing.

It was Naruto's aura, not doubt about that, aura doesn't lie, but in the form of Sasuke. Suddenly, it snapped into my mind that it was Naruto who had used the transformation jutsu to look like Sasuke.

_The reason he'd want to do that is a mystery to me!_

I continued to watch the chains of events that where unfolding in the schoolyard. I walked along the outside hallway. I saw Naruto racing my way and I could also see that he was in pain. In my 'aura-eye', I saw that Naruto was clutching his stomach, and that he was still using the transformation jutsu. Even though I knew that it was Naruto and not Sasuke, I still could imagine Sasuke looking and acting so…well…un-Sasuke-ish.

I saw Naruto dive into the bathroom, and sit down, but that was all. I wasn't accomplished at seeing through chakra-infused walls, not to mention that I didn't want to see what would happen next. I shook my head and turned my attention back to finding Hinata.

I went out into the courtyard still looking around to find Hinata. The day was warm with a cool breeze. A perfect day for training. I walked out along the cobbled-stone path and I saw Sakura sitting on a stone bench. As I passed, I noticed Sakura's head turn as she saw Sasuke coming out of the trees. I blinked and her eyes went back to their normal shade of hazel.

"Oh Sasuke! You're back! Don't be so shy, you bad boy!" shrieked Sakura, in a love-struck way. The normal pink blotches on her cheeks that became present when Sasuke was within her proximity, had turned unnaturally red.

"She has not clue! She wouldn't know the difference between a clover and yarrow if Sasuke was present!" I hissed to Espeon.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked Sakura in his normal emotionless way.

_Here we go again. Another fight just waiting to happen! _I groaned in my mind.

"Oh, there you go again. Changing the subject again," said Sakura in her same tone of voice. "Anyway, Naruto just picks fights with you. You know why he does things like that? Because he wasn't raised right. He doesn't have a mother and father. No one to teach him right from wrong. If I did things like Naruto, forget it! I mean, my parents would get mad, and I'd get in trouble, so of course I don't do it. But if you didn't have parents to tell you, how would you know? He's selfish and bratty. He's all alone."

I noticed Sasuke give Sakura a silent, furious glare. His eyes looked as though they were made from steel.

To me, it felt as though I'd just swallowed fire, although it felt like ice within my stomach. I turned around, doing my best to keep my anger in check. It went unsuccessfully. I whirled around. I could feel my face twisted in rage. "Sakura!" I hissed drily announcing my presence. It felt as though the fire was hissing and burning within my stomach. "I'd always thought of you as an understanding sort of person, but I guess that I was wrong. You know what your problem is? You make accusations about someone you hardly know and you have no idea what they're feeling! You have no idea how painful it is to be alone!" I hissed the last few words in a quiet sort of way, but I knew that my tone was filled with venom.

Espeon let her hackles rise as she glared at Sakura in an intimating way that would make any person's blood run cold.

"Naya, no I didn't mean, I mean, I…" began Sakura, but I refused to listen.

_Shut up! Shut up!_

I felt hurt and furious at Sakura. Was it just bad luck that we'd been put on the same squad on the days that she makes two of her three squad-mates furious at her?

My stomach churned with pain. I could vaguely hear Sakura trying to say some words of apology. I refused to listen. I just put my hands over my ears, whipped around, and rushed back to the academy, without giving Sakura another thought or glance.

Espeon followed quickly, I knew her ears were flat against her neck in aggression; as she always did when she was agitated.

_That really hurt. What Sakura said, but I bet it hurt Sasuke very much as well. What was Sakura thinking? Saying that around Sasuke, if she's ever going to win him, she's going to have clear her mind toughly! _I hissed in my mind. But then I calmed a bit when I realized another thought. _But what I said to Sakura might have been a little too fierce, but she already knows that I've lost one family, but that's only the half of it. I've lost _two_ families, and my old dream._

I headed to the classroom where my squad was supposed to meet our Jonin sensei. I shared my lunch with Espeon in silence. Soon, I detected the footsteps of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto filing quietly up that hall and into the room.


	10. 2 Boring Hours Later

Our new sensei was late. I grew bored, and from the expressions worn on everyone else's faces, I knew they felt the same. To me, the seconds felt like minutes, the minutes felt hours, and the hours felt like eons.

Soon, Naruto became impatient, as usual, and decided to set up a trap for the late sensei by lodging a chalk eraser into the sliding door, so it would hopefully fall a top the sensei's head. I could sense that nothing good would come out of Naruto little 'game'.

"Naruto!" warned Sakura loudly. "You know you shouldn't do that! You're going to get us all in trouble."

"Well, that's what he gets for coming late! Surprise!" teased Naruto.

"Hn, our teacher's a Jonin, an elite ninja. Do you really think that he'd fall for a lame trick like that?" muttered Sasuke, locking his fingers together and resting his chin atop them.

I said nothing, but opened my 'aura-eye' and began to scan the hallway for any signs of our late, Jonin sensei's approach. I noticed a shape coming up the hallway, towards the classroom. Their aura was unfamiliar to me.

A hand took hold of the door's handle, and slid it open. The eraser, dislodged from its position, fell upon the silver-gray head of their sensei, which was seemed to lean over toward the left side of his head.

He was wearing a navy-blue mask over his face, covering his mouth and nose. His headband was crooked, hiding his left eye from view. He was wearing the chunin flack vest, in mossy-green color, with a black, long-sleeved shirt underneath. He wore long, baggy, black pants, with bandages around the lower part of his shinbones and ankles. His visible eye wore the expression of boredom, and hinted at an easy-going nature. But, looking at him fully, he gave the impression that you wouldn't want to mess with him.

"Ha ha! He totally fell for it!" cracked Naruto, pointing.

"I'm sorry, sensei. I told him not to do it, but he would listen. I'd never do anything like that," said Sakura, her head low with apology. But I could feel that her true expression was the absolute opposite.

"He actually fell for that cheap trick. Is this guy, really a Jonin?" muttered Sasuke, resting his chin in his locked fingers on the desk.

I had to admit that Sasuke had a point.

Our sensei bent down and picked up the eraser. He took a good look at us and said, "Hmm, how should I put this? My first impression of this team is—you're a bunch of idiots."

I felt Naruto and Sakura go flat with their emotions. I was a bit un-nerved, but ready to prove myself. Sasuke's expression seemed mostly unchanged.

_Brilliant, we have to spend all our years with this ninja until we die,_ I thought in a bitter, dry way.

Sensei brought us onto the rooftop of the academy. Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and me sat down on the steps, while our sensei leaned against the railing.

"Now, why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time," said our sensei.

"Introduce ourselves? What are we supposed to say?" asked Sakura

"Thing you like, thing you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies. Thing like that," muttered the sensei.

"Well, why don't you tell us about you. You know, so we can see how it's supposed to work," suggested Naruto.

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate, I don't really feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future…hm…never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies," Kakashi stated blankly.

"Well, that was totally useless. All he really told us was his name," muttered Sakura.

Naruto nodded.

"Okay then. You, on the right, you first," instructed Kakashi, pointing to the hyperactive blonde.

"Believe it, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup, and a really liked the ramen Iruka-sensei got me, at the Ichiraku noodle shop. But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them..."

_His hobby is comparing ramen?_

"…and my future dream is, to be the greatest Hokage. Then the whole village will stop ignoring me and start treating me like I'm somebody, somebody important," stated Naruto, in his usual carefree way.

"Alright, next," said Kakashi

"I'm Sakura Haruno, what is er… or the person I like is…um, my hobby is umm… My dream for the future is um…" said Sakura in her high-pitched voice, and blushing furiously, while glancing at Sasuke every few moments. Though her signs of attraction to Sasuke were obvious, he didn't react in the slightest.

"And, what do you hate?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto!" said Sakura flatly.

Naruto cringed. His mouth gaped wide open.

_That wasn't nice…_

"Alright then, next," sighed Kakashi-sensei.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone…" Sasuke muttered quietly and mysteriously.

_A certain someone…? That tells us a whole lot!_

"Okay then, last one," drawled Kakashi, pointing at me.

"Umm…" I was always nervous when it came to say or doing something in front of other people. "My Name is Naya Uchiha. I…um…" I could feel the gazes of Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei burning into me as they listened to my thin and petty words.

"What do you like?" pressed Espeon through her telepathy.

"I...er…like working with Espeon and um… strengthening my aura's power. Ummm…"

"Dislikes," Espeon pressed again.

"I hate seeing my friends and comrades fall and die in front of me. But even more, if it was me who let them down," I whispered, staring at the light, concrete ground. "I guess that my dream is just being the best I can be… though I'm not sure if that counts at a dream."

_Thanks, Espeon. I own you one. When I was called, my mind was a blank. I hope I didn't sound idiotic._

"You did fine," Espeon replied, waving her tail lazily.

"Good, you're all unique and have your own ideas. Tomorrow, we'll have our first mission," explained Kakashi-sensei.

"What mission are we going to have?" asked Naruto, saluting Kakashi-sensei.

"It's a task…"

_Oh duh!_

"…that we're all going to do together," Kakashi finished.

"What, what, what?" Naruto said, practically bouncing up and down with excitement in such a manor that made him look like a frog on a lily pad.

"A survival exercise," replied Kakashi

"Huh? A survival exercise?" Naruto whined. Disappointment hung on his face like smoke did in the air after a fire.

"I thought we're supposed to have a real mission, not more practice," protested Sakura. "We already did this stuff at the academy. That's how we got here."

"This isn't like your original training," said Kakashi mysteriously.

"So, um… What kind of training is it then?" asked Naruto

Kakashi said nothing, but just chuckled.

"Hey, hold on. That was a normal question, what's so funny about it?" inquired Sakura. Her brow was furrowed in confusion or perhaps from thinking to hard.

"Well, if I tell you, you're not going to like it," warned Kakashi.

"What is it? Come on, tell us!" begged Naruto.

"Of all the twenty eight genin at just came here. Less then a third of them will actually be accepted as genin. The rest of the lot will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. So, basically, this is a make-it-or-break-it pass-fail test, and the chance that you'll fail is at least 66 percent. See? I told you that you wouldn't like it," Kakashi-sensei said drily while basking in the image of our expressions of horror.

I felt my jaw hanging open. An idiotic expression worked its way onto my face.

_This is crazy! It's insane! A 66 percent dropout rate? I'm nowhere near as smart as Sakura, I don't have nearly has much guts as Naruto, and Sasuke's stronger then us all put together! And what am I? Shy, quiet, and a complete failure as a ninja! _

"That's crazy! We've worked hard to get here! Believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?" protested Naruto.

"Oh, that. That was just to select candidates that _might _become genin. Or not," explained Kakashi flippantly.

"What?" whined Naruto.

"Be at the designated training spot at five A.M. and bring your ninja gear," instructed Kakashi-sensei.

_I'll _never_ pass this test. I mean, I _barely_ made it through the graduation test. I'm sure I'll be the one who gets weeded out._

"Oh! Give it a rest, Naya!" Espeon hissed, leaping to her paws. "Say that you're going to fail, one more time, and I'll tackle you to the ground!"

"Okay, then," I sneered at her. "I'm gonna fail!"

"I warned you!" Espeon jumped one. I could feel her small paws churning at my back as she flipped me over. A gentle thump followed as Espeon made herself exceedingly comfortable sitting on my back. She began to squirm around and padding her front paws into my back, as though rubbing salt into the wound in a more gentle and playful ploy.

"Oh, get off me, you great lump!" I hissed at her, not amused in the slightest.

"Oh, alright! Alright! Okay!" Espeon mewed, getting off me. She licked her front paw and drew it across her ears.

I looked at her. She looked back at me. Then, we both fell over laughing. It was a good sign. I hadn't laughed like this in a long time.

I could feel the rest of my team's gazes burning into me. For the first time, I couldn't care less. Because it was just Espeon and me and no one else.

_An omen, maybe? A sign that things are about to change for the better?_

"What are you two laughing at?" Sakura demanded. Her hands were guided to her hips as she stood above us. A smug looks of disagreement at out naïve actions was worn upon her scornful face.

"Us," I replied.

She rolled her eyes drastically, as though trying to act more annoyed than she really was for a little attention from Sasuke, A.K.A. her prince charming. "Whatever," she muttered. "I'm sure that you'd never do something so non-sensible like them, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn," he replied.

"Well, if you two are done yet, may I get on to explaining the mission?" inquired Kakashi-sensei.

"Yeah," I replied. I felt my face heat up. "Sorry." I coward down low to show that I was submissive. I wanted to melt away into the ground.

"Like I was saying before. Training field 6 tomorrow at five A.M. That's it, you're dismissed. Oh tomorrow, you'd better skip breakfast, otherwise, you're going to throw up," warned Kakashi. He turned and walked off without another word. He turned and looked at us over his shoulder. "Good luck!"

"Who does that big shot think he is?" snarled Naruto. " He comes two and a half hours late just to tell us _that_?"

"For once, only once. I agree with you, Naruto. A 66 percent dropout rate?" Sakura shrieked.

"I'm outta here before my eardrums explode," I hissed out of the corner of my mouth. I walked off without another word.

I passed Iruka-sensei who was carrying a large stack of papers.

"Naruto's homework excuses. Now that he's graduated, time to dig out," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth. He smiled quickly at my and kept on walking.

I went home and lay down on my bed. Everything ached from the brutal training session Espeon had drilled me in. I could see a few bruises blossoming on my arms from when Espeon had tackled me into the ground. Thoughts about tomorrow rolled into my head pulling my mind from my thoughts of pain and soreness. More fear and doubt arose in me.

"Well, if I do get weeded out, at least, I'll know how to pass the graduation test," I muttered grimly.

"Will you give it a rest, Naya?" growled Espeon, padding to her little basket, circling around and making herself very comfortable. "You're driving me crazy! You're _not_ a failure as a ninja! And you _are _going to pass that test tomorrow!" She turned her head and began to groom off the patches of soil from her flank.

"Thanks. But I still think I'm a failure as a ninja."

"Well that's what you _think_," Espeon countered. Her tail flicked contemptuously.

"Will you be quiet?" I hissed.

"Yeah, yeah…" Espeon remarked passively; completely numb to my threats.

"Do you think that 'don't eat breakfast or you'll regret it' statement was a ploy or real?" I murmured to my partner.

"Well, seeing as it's survival training, anything's possible. He could be planning to try and feed us some kind of poisonous bug or scorpion. Or maybe a kind of berry that has bad medical qualities if used wrong, like yarrow," Espeon reasoned.

"Mm hm," I mumbled.

_Yarrow will make the consumer throw up, a good way get rid of toxins in the digestive system, however, not very pleasant._

"What should we do about it?"

"I'll give you my advice, seeing as that's my role in this situation, but I'm not going to make your choice for you," Espeon growled.

"Go ahead," I prompted.

"I think that you should heed the warning, but bring a small bit of food with you in case it was a ploy," Espeon replied.

"Good point."

"But if you're too chicken to bring anything with you, you can always just starve!" Espeon ventured playfully.

"I was hoping for a little sympathy there, Espeon!"

"Yeah, well you can't get everything in life," she yawned and curled in the great nest of blankets that made up my bed. "Good night."

I rolled my eyes and curled deeper into the great tangle and nest of blankets that were piled on top of my bed. A great yawn forced my mouth open. I dug down deeper and quickly fell asleep.

"Good night, Espeon," I mumbled sleepily.


	11. Test START!

"Okay then, START!"

I sprang off quickly. Espeon kept in stride of me with ease. We raced off toward the left side of the field that was shaded thickly with trees.

"Let's watch, looks like Naruto's about to take Kakashi on. Iruka-sensei has always said to analyze your opponent as much as possible."

"You and me, right now, fair and square! Let's go!" proclaimed Naruto, who was standing in the middle of the training field, arms crossed, facing Kakashi-sensei.

"Um... Compared to the others, you're a bit, um, weird," admitted Kakashi-sensei, dropping gaze and scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Oh yeah! Well the only thing weird here is your haircut!" mocked Naruto. With that said, Naruto charged head-on toward Kakashi-sensei.

"Ninja battle skills, part one, taijutsu," muttered Kakashi-sensei, reaching his hand into his shuriken holster.

_Taijutsu? That's hand-to-hand combat. Then why is he reaching for a weapon? Is the use of weapons an element of taijutsu?_

I watched Naruto had just halted his charge about five feet away from Kakashi-sensei. His eyes narrowed at Kakashi-sensei, waiting for him to make his move.

Kakashi removed his hand from his shuriken holster. What he held in his hand was neither a shuriken or kunai knife, but rather a small, orange book, which he cracked open and began to read.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Make your move!" taunted Kakashi, not removing his eyes from the page.

"Well…um…why are you reading that book?" inquired Naruto, who still hadn't moved, and was not looking utterly confused. I was as well.

"Oh this? To find out what happens in the story, duh. Don't let it bother you, with your petty and weak attacks it won't matter if I'm reading or doing whatever," taunted Kakashi again, his gaze unmoved.

"I'm going to crush you!" roared Naruto, winded up into what would be a huge punch. Which was quickly blocked by Kakashi's palm. Naruto aimed a large kick at his head, only to miss from another quick dodge by Kakashi. "Now, you're mine!" Naruto aimed another punch, but on split second before, Kakashi disappeared, leaving Naruto to punch thin air. "Huh? What the…?"

"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time," said Kakashi, making the tiger-sign with his hands, while gripping his book between his palms.

_That hand sign is for a fire jutsu. He could kill Naruto with a single hit._ I could feel panic rising inside my head. _I've got to tell him! He may be a pain in the neck, but he doesn't deserve to get blasted into the air with a fire jutsu. _

"I beg to differ," Espeon snorted.

"Naruto! Get out of there quick, he's going to destroy you!" screamed Sakura, from her hiding place in the bushes, to my far left.

"To late," muttered Kakashi. "Leaf village secret finger jutsu!" Kakashi-sensei swung his arms up, while continuing to hold the tiger-hand sign, aiming for right at the seat of his pants. Kakashi launched Naruto into the air, with what looked like no effort what so ever. "One thousand years of death!" Naruto landed with a splash in the pond.

_That was just a bluff! He must have just infused chakra into his hands, and poked him_. _What sort of idiot am I? Falling for a cheap trick like that?_

"You're doing it again, Naya," Espeon warned icily.

"Okay, where was I?" muttered Kakashi turning back to his book not giving Naruto another thought.

"If Naruto can get launched into the air that easily, then I haven't got a chance," I moaned quietly.

"Just keep pushing," Espeon growled again, her tailed lashed out at a stray twig.

I jerked my head up when I heard a small splash from the pond, and two shuriken came spinning out, aiming straight for Kakashi. Moving his arm quickly, Kakashi had them slip over his pointer and middle fingers, like rings. A moment later, Naruto came crawling out of the pond on all fours, coughing and sputtering, and not to mention, soaking wet. Needless to say, he was far less then pleased.

"What are you doing now?" asked Kakashi-sensei, looking down on Naruto. "You know that if you don't get a bell, you won't get any lunch."

"I know, I know! You told us already!" Naruto protested stubbornly, still squatting on the bank.

"You look pretty wobbly for someone who's _'supposedly'_ is going to surpass the Hokage," Kakashi-sensei remarked.

"You told us not to eat breakfast! How can I fight if I'm starving to death?" demanded Naruto, while his stomach was growling.

_Normally going without meals for a day or two isn't so bad. Why does it hurt so much__** this**__ time around? _I thought, while my stomach rudely reminded me that it was empty.

"So, you caught me off-guard! That's all it was! Believe it!" protested Naruto, who was still crouched on the bank, soaking wet.

I saw Naruto's mouth move, though I couldn't pick out any words. I could feel the harsh determination whirling with his aura's glow.

There was a swirling of water, and a whoosh of water drops. Then on the land, raced seven Naruto clones, all charging towards Kakashi-sensei.

I quickly awakened my 'aura-eye', taking a good look at them. I quickly realized that was that they weren't illusions, but, weren't real either.

"Great technique, but I don't think you can contain it for very long. You talk like you're the best, Naruto. But you're still the worse student. You can't beat me with this jutsu," Kakashi-sensei stated bluntly after a few moments.

_He's over-confident…_

Suddenly, one of the Naruto clones, leapt and latched onto Kakashi's middle, holding him down. While, the other mob of clones neared, quickly.

Naruto laughed, menacingly. "You said not to let your enemy get behind you all the time, yeah good advice, Sensei, you should listen to it. I had one of my clones, sneak out of the river, and sneak behind you, quietly." All the Naruto clones had latched onto Kakashi's legs, but left his arms completely open, while one soared above him, readying a punch. "Now, _this _is for nailing me in the butt, earlier!"

There was a sickening thump, which was followed quickly by a giant thud, and a groan from all the Naruto clones.

"Huh?" asked one of the clones, confused. "It's you. You're Kakashi-sensei, aren't you?"

_Hm... The substitution jutsu I believe. Your enemy switches his or her body with a rock or a log, so you have to listen to what sound the contact makes, because, while you're all confused your opponent can easily launch a counter attack_. _But Kakashi-sensei did it so smoothly. Even with my 'aura-eye' open I didn't see a thing. That Jonin is good. Real good…_

"It's nothing that we can't match," Espeon flaunted, flicking her tail confidently.

All the clones began debating over who Kakashi-sensei, while beating each other up. While a wave of bickering soared above, while a cloud of dust engulfed them.

I could sense Sasuke to my far left. "Just undo the jutsu, loser," I could guess that would be what he was thinking and/or saying at the time.

There was a puff of dust, and in the center of the field, stood Naruto, busied and looking utterly confused, not to mention quite beaten up. There was a small flash of something silver at the base of a tree. And Naruto quickly realized that it was a bell. Over done with glee, he completely forgot to check for traps, and charged straight in for the bell, while singing, "He dropped a bell! He dropped a bell!"

_Don't tell me that you're really going to fall for it, Naruto! Think __**before **__you move! It's the most basic rule of battle! Geez! Idiot!_

There was a quick flash of movement, and yowl of surprise from Naruto, and as quickly as that, Naruto was hanging upside down on a branch of the tree, by his ankles, which where bound together by a rope.

_Geez, Naruto. Of course it was a trap! What else would you think it was? _I thought.

_Sweatdrop_

"Arg! The bell!" Naruto was yelling desperately, while still hanging upside down.

Kakashi-sensei appeared underneath Naruto and picked up the bell.

He sighed heavily, and then stated, "_Think_ _before_ you use a jutsu, otherwise, your _opponent_ might just use it against you. Oh, and, if the bait is _obvious, _don't take it. A ninja must see through deception."

"Arrrg! I-GET-IT!" snarled Naruto.

"I'm telling you this because you _don't_ get it. You _think _you get, which is _not _the same as _actually _getting it. _Get it?"_ lectured Kakashi-sensei, swinging around the bell in order to turn Naruto's patience against him.

"ARRRG!" yowled Naruto, more enraged then ever.

To my far left, I heard a swish of leaves, and five shuriken and two kunai knives came shooting out.

_That's Sasuke's attack! I can sense that. _

There was a spatter of blood, and a thudding sound as the shuriken and kunai hit Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi-sensei was swept off his feet and landed with a thud, which allowed a small cloud of dust to appear and envelop him.

"Sasuke! That was overkill!" shouted Naruto.

_That didn't sound right_. _The substitution jutsu again, maybe…?_

I watched carefully as the dust cleared. A long lay in the exact location of where my sensei had been just moments prior. The seven weapons formerly of Sasuke's inventory lay embedded deeply in the dense, splintery wood.

I called Espeon to my side and moved my location. The swishing of bushed and the thudding of branches being stepped on told me that Sasuke was moving too.

_And of course if Sasuke's moving, that means Sakura isn't far behind, _I added to myself.

I circled back around to my old hiding spot and waited until the coast was clear. Removing a shuriken from my holster on my right leg, I threw it into the air. I watched its arch as it spun. I watched it snap the rope that bound Naruto's ankles together. I didn't wait for Naruto to touch the ground. I moved again. As I moved, I heard a high-pitched scream that I knew could only belong to Sakura. Without stopping, I continued to move about. A second scream, forced me stop in my tracks.

I blinked, and awakened my 'aura-eye', I glancing around and saw Sakura lying on her back on the ground, Sasuke standing by a tree and securing a rope, Kakashi-sensei sitting up in a tree, reading his book, and Naruto, hanging upside down, _again_. I picked my new hiding spot, atop a tree in the center of a clearing in the training field. I looked down to see Sasuke standing in the center of the clearing. He was staring in the opposite direction. I didn't think that he'd detected me. How I made it into the tree without being noticed was far beyond me. I didn't know, but also decided not to ask how it had happened either.

Sasuke was muttering to himself, but I still clearly hear him saying, "Genjutsu, it's just simple mind control. I'm not surprised that he caught Sakura with it, but, I'm not like Sakura, Naruto, and Naya."

"Say all that _after_ get a bell," replied Kakashi, who was leaning against the tree that I had decided to perch in. His visible eye was half-closed, displaying a lazy and uninterested expression. He guard was down.

_ This is the best chance that I might get all day. Kakashi-sensei is standing right under me, but yet. He probably knows that I'm here. But even if he doesn't, I don't want Sasuke mad with me for messing up his match. I'm not ready to risk that._

"What're you waiting for?" Espeon demanded. "Get him!"

"I really don't want Sasuke mad at me," I murmured back.

Espeon rolled her eyes in disbelief.

Kakashi-sensei walked forward and met Sasuke eye-to-eye. They were both standing in the ready position. Prepared for any movement. I could sense a lot of tension in the air between those two. Mainly Sasuke.

Sasuke made the first move, by releasing three shuriken, two where aimed at Kakashi, which he dodged easily, sliding back toward the tree.

"It's pointless using normal attacks," he advised drily.

The other shuriken had been aimed at the rope I had seen him tie earlier, which released a trap of several kunai knives, aiming at the tree in the center of the field

Kakashi sprang out of the way seconds before the kunai pierced the spot that he had been standing just seconds before. The force from the trap was so powerful I felt the tree vibrate beneath me. The feeling made me worry that I'd fall out of the tree. I clung to a branch as though my life depended on it.

Kakashi-sensei slid out into the clearing, where Sasuke was waiting with a counter kick that was blocked by Kakashi's hands. Sasuke aimed a punch at his left shoulder, which, again, was quickly blocked by Kakashi-sensei. Finally, Sasuke launched a kick over Kakashi's head, which turned him upside down with one free hand, which he reached out with for a bell. Kakashi sprang away again, just as Sasuke's finger touched a bell, having Sasuke land unevenly on his feet, while Kakashi skidded away from Sasuke.

Straightening up, Sasuke began to make several hand signs, the only one that I could fully see were the last two, which were the horse and tiger signs.

_ That's the fireball jutsu. That's Sasuke's signature move_.

Sasuke made a coil with his thumb and other fingers, and he blasted a thin stream of fire through it, and morphed it into a large fireball, scorching the ground where Kakashi stood. When the flames receded, Kakashi-sensei was gone. Moving franticly, Sasuke began to twist around, searching for him. I couldn't sense him either. That made me wonder.

"Where'd he go? Behind me? Above?" hissed Sasuke, turning frantically in random directions.

There was a small crack, and the hand of Kakashi-sensei came out of the ground, and grabbled hold of Sasuke's ankle.

"Where? I'm where you least expect me," replied Kakashi.

There was a violent scuffling noise and yells from Sasuke, as a cloud of dust appeared. When it had cleared, only Sasuke's head was visible, the rest of him was buried underneath.

"Right under your feet. Earth Style Headhunter Jutsu," Kakashi-sensei educated dryly. "Can't move, huh? That was ninjutsu, the third shinobi battle skill. You were right, you have talent, and you are _different _from the others. But different isn't always better. They say that the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down." Kakashi-sensei turned around and walked away from Sasuke, continuing to read his book.

"Oh great!" I heard Sasuke growl in annoyance and anger.

"Okay, Espeon. Are you ready to give it our best shot?" I asked Espeon, who nodded. We sprang down from the tree and raced after Kakashi-sensei.

But we hadn't even gone ten paces when I noticed Sakura coming out of the trees. When Sakura saw Sasuke, she froze in her tracks. She fought of a faint, then she cocked her head toward him.

"Sakura?" inquired Sasuke.

But Sakura's only response was in a high-pitched scream, "Ahhhhhhh! Sasuke's just a head without a body and he's talking!" Then she fell into unmistakable faint.

"And, _that's_ my _partner_," he rolled his eye with annoyance as he scoffed at Sakura.

"Sasuke?" I asked, walking closer cautiously. "Do you know how to release the headhunter jutsu?"

"If I knew, then I would be long gone by now," he replied coldly.

I ignored his much less then pleasant reply and asked Espeon to use psychic to hopefully to soften the ground and release the jutsu.

Grumpily, she agreed, but only used confusion rather than her more powerful move, psychic. However, it worked anyway. The ground loosened and was easy to move around underneath the surface. Espeon and I took off, while Sasuke crawled out of the ground.

I glanced up at the sky and I saw that the sun was near its mid point.

_I don't have much time left before noon_. _If I want a bell, I'll only have one chance to get one. That is, if time doesn't run out on me first. I waited to watch as many attempts at getting a bell from my teammates, perhaps that was a mistake. Maybe the best way to surpass an opponent like this is by trial and error. _

I quickly found Kakashi-sensei standing near the center of the field by the posts. His left hand gripped his little, orange book that he was reading constantly.

_I don't have any time to make a stealthy attack, so it will have to be a frontal one. Even though I don't really like them. But I can't let that book fool me. Even if it seems that Kakashi-sensei is reading, he can match my attacks without batting an eyelash, let alone while reading a book!_

"You ready to go?" I asked Espeon, who nodded decisively and lash her tail at the ground. Her eyes sparked with eagerness and her forward energy, which wasn't out of the ordinary when she became excited or psyched about something.

Espeon and I raced forward at Kakashi from both sides. I kept my 'aura-eye' open, ready for any signs that hinted that Kakashi-sensei might move to attack or flee.

Kakashi-sensei slipped his orange book back into his shuriken holster and sighed. His visible eye closed in a sleepily or lazy manor.

_Did he really think that Espeon and me were going to be boring to face?_ My face was twisted with rage at the thought.

"We'll show you just how _boring_ we are! Espeon, psybeam! And for me, aura sphere!" I commanded, not breaking my gait.

Espeon leaped gracefully into the air and her red orb turned to a gentle, clear blue. I watched as a rainbow aurora was released so it was shooting across the clearing. Its power was unmistakable from the radiation of energy that it admitted.

Kakashi sprang up easily, and took a good look at the attack.

"Hm. This doesn't look like a normal chakra attack. Better watch my step," I heard him mutter.

I sprang up, and aimed my aura sphere at Kakashi-sensei, who dodged again.

"Espeon, swift!" I commanded, as I descended out of the air and landed on my feet, bending my knees to absorb the shock.

Espeon sprang up gracefully again and sang out, unleashing many multi-colored stars from her mouth. I watched them strike Kakashi-sensei squarely in the stomach and chest. A cloud of smoke engulfed them. I watched carefully. As it cleared, Espeon and Kakashi-sensei stood staring fiercely at each other.

"Quick attack!"

I watched Espeon shoot forward and hit Kakashi-sensei squarely in his lower stomach, sending him staggering backward a few steps.

"Good work, Espeon! But keep your guard up."

Espeon nodded defiantly, lashing her tail and scraping the sun-baked earth with her short claws.

"I am Naya from _the_ Uchiha clan. I **can't **lose this. I just _**can't!**_," I yowled out loud to give myself some faith that I could accomplish this task.

_I've been through tough times. Time and time again, but no matter the situation, I've always been able to come up with a winning move and set things right again. And, I've gotta do the same thing RIGHT NOW!_

"So, you're from the Uchiha clan, yes?" Kakashi-sensei inquired.

_That's what I just said, isn't it?_

"Ah, yes! I remember a young infant girl being sent away from Konoha to live in another world. I never thought I'd ever meet her." Suddenly, Kakashi's expression changed to deep sorrow. I didn't understand why. "Your older brother was one of my squad mates. Obito Uchiha."

_What is he rambling on about? Obito Uchiha? Older brother? Since when? No one ever told me that I had an older brother. Doesn't matter now, I've got to focus on the present, not the past. I've gotta focus on this match. No mercy. Not now!_

I released my 'aura-eye' and let my fingers fly through the signs for the phoenix flower jutsu. I leaped into the air and began to spin like a vortex as balls of fire emanated from my mouth in waves. I listened, and heard a thud, and made a guess that my attack had hit Kakashi-sensei.

When I stopped spinning, I called to Espeon, "Now, Espeon, use quick attack!"

Espeon sprang up again and shot toward Kakashi with astounding speed so that a white trail was formed behind her.

Kakashi dodged again with ease, making Espeon miss by only a fraction of an inch. Espeon still landed gracefully and lightly on her paws. Her back was to Kakashi-sensei. A deadly mistake waiting to happen…

He charged for Espeon. He swung his leg back, and kicked her. Espeon let out a high squeak of pain as she hit the dust.

"Espeon!" I cried out. "Alright then, you asked for it! Fire style! Fireball Jutsu!"

_Latios! Please let this work!_

I know that this jutsu is still imperfect, but maybe…

I felt all the power collect at the back of my throat. I leaned back for a split second, while turning my hands into fists. I slammed my upper body forward, hoping for the best.

I felt energy exert out of my throat. I watched fire come from my throat, but not very much. I watched in dismay as it trickled out, then disappeared.

I cursed angrily under my breath.

"Heh… Nice try," I heard Kakashi-sensei taunt. "But a win's a win. So, I'll take it." Half a dozen kunai came flying at me.

I felt my muscles freeze. A great emotion of fear came whirling into my mind. Adrenalin flared through my veins, setting my emotions a blaze with the sense of danger and pain quickly approaching my near future and me.

Something flashed in front of my line of vision.

"Espeon!" I cried out.

"Psywave!" A strange, mystical sort of wave emanated from her eyes, covering the whole field. I watched in awe as the kunai slowed until they lay suspended in the air. Then, the forces of gravity took over and they fell to the ground harmlessly.

Espeon waved her tail at me joyfully.

I relaxed and looked through my 'aura-eye', and quickly spotted Kakashi-sensei hiding in a tree. His hand was in his shuriken holster once again.

_Is he reaching for a weapon? Or was it just a bluff, and he was just getting his book? _I swiftly considered the options. _Well, even if it is a bluff, I'm not taking a chance._

"Espeon! Come here!"

Espeon bounded over to me. I could see some minor cuts on her coat, which weren't unexplained when it came to battle. Though, I could also pick out the large spot of soil from where Kakashi-sensei had kicked her.

I heard a strange crunching sound. I sensed whirled with surprise and rage as the footing underneath my faithful partner crumbled and she fell into a deep pit, and out of sight. A sickening thud reached my ears, as the laws of gravity once again became a kunai up the butt.

"Espeon!" I cried to her, leaning over the pit and gazing down into the ominous darkness.

A pitiful cry answered my frantic call or demand to my partner, who was now unseen. Amongst the dull darkness, I could vaguely make out her silhouette stirring at the bottom.

"Are you alright?" I demanded.

"I've been better!" Espeon replied.

"Hold on! I'll have you outta there in a moment! Then, that sorry excuse for a sensei… IS TOAST!" I called into the darkness.

_But, Kakashi-sensei's not just giving us a test. He's giving us a report about what a formidable opponent he really is. What have I seen so far? His taijutsu can slow even Naruto's hyper-active speed down, he can catch Sakura in a genjutsu, his weapon use and Earth Style ninjutsu can pull down Sasuke, and he's even able to set pit-fall traps that even Espeon can't even sniff out or predict. Not to mention that he's a well-seasoned Jonin and we're barely genin…_

Within minutes, I had Espeon back on solid ground. She was covered in dirt and small bits of roots, but none the worst for wear, not including her front, right paw, which was painfully swollen. So much in fact, that Espeon refused to put any weight on it.

"You okay, girl?" I asked, while petting her. "You did great."

Espeon nodded and sank happily onto her stomach in the shade.

_This'll effect her movement. More than half of Espeon's weight resides on her front legs. Though she can put more weight onto her back legs, it makes walking painfully difficult for her, not to mention that it'll hurt either way. I should probably just give up, rather then to try again and make it worse. But is that what Espeon would want?_

There was a rustle of leaves, and five shuriken came spinning out, aiming for Espeon.

Her ears jerked straight up, now making her resemble a fennec fox on alert. Espeon scrambled up to her paws and managed to evade the first five shuriken—but running was a great task for her now—another two shuriken was sent at her.

Without thinking at all, I dove straight for Espeon, and covered her body with my own, while taking the two, rogue shuriken into my own back. I let out a high-pitched gasp of pain as drops of my blood sprinkled on the grass.

I looked down, "Are you okay now, Espeon?" I asked. Espeon, who was still mostly petrified from the even just a few moments ago, managed to nod and blink with gratitude. "Good, I'm glad."

A thought registered in my mind. _Kakashi-sensei didn't go this far with any other member. In fact, he barely touched them. But, he did all this to Espeon… Was he trying to kill her?_

_ No! Impossible! Why would he do that? He must've just gotten a bit carried away…_

Off in the distance, I heard the alarm begin to ring.

_We're out of time. I guess this means, back to the academy next term… Well, in any case. Espeon's safe, and that's all that really counts._


	12. KIA, Illusions, and a Hero

I reached to my back and pulled out the two shuriken. After that, I pushed myself to my feet, and began to walk towards the center posts. Espeon leaped gratefully into my arms and I carried her back to the place where we'd started.

When we reached the center of the field Kakashi-sensei and Naruto where already there. Kakashi was tying Naruto to the center post.

_Wonder what Naruto did to get him to be tied to a post, cause none of us managed to get a bell. Or maybe I'm next… Even so, he's not going to touch Espeon! If he does, I'll rip his heart out!_

Espeon looked at my sternly.

"Naya! Nothing's happened yet!" she growled. "Besides, what he want with a half-sized pint like you?"

"Shut up, Espeon!" I hissed back playfully.

Espeon shrugged, obviously not caring at all at my pathetic threats.

I approached cautiously, each moment half expecting my new sensei to jump on me and bind me to on shuriken post, but his movement never came. I settled down on the grass, and examined Espeon's paw that had been twisted by Kakashi-sensei's pit-fall trap.

"Hm… Just a sprang, but it hurts doesn't it?" I whispered to Espeon, while shooting an angry glare at Kakashi-sensei.

Espeon flicked her ears back, and cringed with pain, as I gently wrapped it in soft, white cloth to give it move support.

"Does that feel a little better, Espeon?" I asked as I began petting her softly. Espeon nodded, and blinked with gratitude. "Tomorrow we'll start to stretch it out and get back into action. 'Kay?"

Espeon nodded and curled up in my lap. She began to purr.

It didn't take long for Sasuke and Sakura to arrive at the posts. Both of them looked pretty beaten up. Sasuke was still covered in a thin layer of dust and dirt from the headhunter jutsu that I could tell that he hadn't enjoyed in the slightest. He also ad some raw cuts on his face that could use some treatment. Sakura looked completely fine other from some leaves and twigs in her pale pink hair and a thin scrape on her right forearm.

"Naya, what happened to you?" Sasuke inquired.

I'd completely forgotten the shuriken impact. I didn't know why or how. I was about to reply but Sakura beat me to the punch.

"Sensei! You really should be more careful! You could've really hurt Naya!"

I sighed and tolled my eyes. _I'm not any weaker then the rest of the lot! I always hate being babied by other people. Although, I guess that I should be happy… after this morning and yesterday's ordeal. And if I'd been Sasuke, Sakura would be shrieking…even more then she had with the headhunter jutsu. And if I had been Naruto, she probably wouldn't have cared in the slightest. _

Kakashi-sensei turned to look at Sakura while scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh…right. Sorry about that Naya, Espeon."

I nodded.

I glanced at Espeon who'd put on a very sarcastic expression with a furrowed brow. She slapped her tail on the ground in annoyance.

"I agree with Sakura. An apology about fifteen minutes earlier would've been nice," she muttered at me bitterly.

I could sense Espeon hadn't forgiven our new sensei quite yet, but was closer then Sakura was.

"You call _that_ an apology?" Sakura exclaimed. "If you do, it stinks!"

"Heheheh," muttered Kakashi-sensei sheepishly again.

I felt hungry, sore, and tired, and judging from the sounds and expressions of everyone else, they all felt the same way.

"Uh-oh. Stomachs growling, eh? That's too bad. Oh, by the way, about this exercise. Well, I've decided not to send _any _of you back to the academy," Kakashi-sensei said.

Naruto started cheering, while Sakura said in utter confusion, "What? I passed? All I did was faint, and fall over. Do you get points for that?"

Sasuke's expression stayed mostly unchanged, as did mine.

_Hm... There's got to be more to this. Kakashi-sensei wouldn't just pass us for any good reason_.

Naruto and Sakura began cheering (and in Sakura's case,) jumping up and down.

"That means all four, all four of us are…" Naruto said gleefully.

"Yes, all four of you-are being dropped from the program-PERMANENTLY!" decreed Kakashi-sensei.

My silent hope dropped like a stone in my heart.

I wouldn't have been surprised if I had failed the exercise and got sent back to the academy, but not _this_. My eyes widened with astonishment and anger. I wanted nothing more then to rush at my 'so-called' sensei and unleash all my rage in a fire jutsu, but I forcibly restrained myself. I knew that is I did do, as I desired, I would be flattened into the dust if I was lucky, more likely I would be annihilated.

I also felt rapid expression changes in Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. So rapid, intense, and powerful, it made me cringe.

"Drop us from the program? That means we can _never _become ninjas. You said that if we failed we'd be sent back to the academy! You **can't **just change your mind and kick us out! Why would you do that?" yowled Naruto in rage.

"Because you don't think like ninja, you think like little kids. Like brats," Kakashi-sensei accused, sternly

"So, are you telling me that Espeon got injured for _nothing?_" I snarled sharply, narrowing my eyes.

_Yet there's something in what Kakashi-sensei I must admit. All I was thinking about in our match was getting a bell, not about the well being of Espeon, gave her heart and soul to my propose, and I made her do most of the work too… _I dropped my head in shame.

Espeon flicked her tail at my cheek and mewed.

"Forgive and forget, huh?" I murmured.

Espeon flicked her ears and mewed brightly, her eyes shining.

"Thank you, my friend," I whispered.

I saw a flash of movement in the corner of my eye. Sasuke had sprang from his sitting position and charged at Kakashi with a kunai knife. There was a blur of movement and a cloud of dust. When it cleared, Kakashi had Sasuke pinned to the ground, while sitting on top of him, his foot rested roughly on top of Sasuke's head. Sasuke's kunai knife lay some three feet away in the dust…forgotten.

"You think it's all about you," Kakashi accused coldly.

"Let go of Sasuke, you can't step on him like he's some bug!" shrieked Sakura.

"You don't know the meaning of what it is to be a ninja. You think it's a game," Kakashi-sensei accused.

I felt a little taken aback. I had always believed that being a ninja meant to work to protect your village and comrades. Was I wrong?

"Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you ever consider that question for one moment?"

"Um. I don't know what you mean," said Sakura, confused

"I mean, you never realized what this exercise is all about. Not even close." I noticed that when Kakashi-sensei spoke this statement, he was mostly facing Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura rather then me.

"What it's about?" asked Naruto, sounding utterly confused.

"Yes. That is what determines weather you pass or fail," replied Kakashi-sensei.

"But that's… I mean I wanted to ask you about that from the beginning," Sakura protested.

"Teh. Use your head. Three to four people on a squad, why do you think we would do that?"

"Ahhh! How are we supposed to know why you picked three or four people! We didn't make the rules!" yowled Naruto in frustration.

"It's so basic-_TEAMWORK!_" stated Kakashi-sensei flatly.

I felt rapid changes in everyone, as well as in myself.

_I guess I was sort of close. I mean, that I worked with Espeon, but because of my mistakes, she got hurt. I should be a better master to her. I'm no leader; I'm not even a true trainer anymore, _I thought with dismay, thinking about my old life back on Johto. Traveling from place to place with Espeon at my side. Winning gym badges and battles. That had been a good life. I shook my head and re-focused on the present conversation.

"Just working together? Is that what you mean?" inquired Sakura

"That's what I mean. It's to late now, but if all four of you had come at me, you _might _have been able to take these bells. But, in anyhow, it's over," snapped Kakashi

"Wait a minute. You set it up with four people, but only three bells. If we had worked together and got the bells only three of us could keep the, and that would lead to group conflict, and the squad would break up," protested Sakura.

"Exactly. I porously pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could overcome that, and put the squad ahead of yourselves. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. Of course, you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. But you, it never even crossed your mind," growled Kakashi. "Sakura, you obsessed over Sasuke who was gone. While Naruto was right in front of you and you would lift a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own, **everything**."

I saw both Sakura and Naruto cringe when their names and faults where stated.

"Naya…"

_Oh crap. What did I do_?

Though I knew that it must be really obvious, then why couldn't I see it?I could feel guilt, shame, and fury building within myself. I'd wanted to do so well, and I'd ended up failing the first exercise our sensei assigned.

"…you don't think highly of yourself, and thought that it would be better for everyone if you just stayed out of their way. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. And you, Sasuke, thought the others where so far beneath you, they where _worthless. Arrogance!_"

_Is that really what Sasuke thinks of us? I knew he was a bit cold and anti-social, but never thought that he would see us as worthless. _

Kakashi-sensei continued. "Every shinobi understands the meaning of teamwork. When individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure, and death. For example." Kakashi took a kunai from his holster and put it to Sasuke's neck. "Sakura, kill Naruto now, or Sasuke dies,"

Sakura looked panicked and her eyes enlarged at the choice she would have to make. She hesitated, her hands trembling, while Naruto began to panic and flail around against the ropes that bound him.

I noticed a small slice appear on Sasuke's neck, right below the kunai's blade. A puddle of scarlet blood trickled onto the grass, the color from Sasuke's face began to drain. More blood trickled onto the grass. I noticed his hair become matted and streaked with the dark red liquid. His shirt ripped along the spine, revealing just a corpse. A corpse made entirely of blood. It oozed out all over the ground, leaving Kakashi-sensei standing victoriously in a puddle of blood.

I began to panic in my mind, as did Sakura out loud.

A growl rose in my throat. Placing Espeon on the ground, I bowed down on all fours and lunged as Kakashi-sensei. I tackled him, most of my weight on his shoulders and made him roll off of Sasuke. I saw the kunai spinning in the air.

"Espeon!" I cried out.

Espeon's eyes glowed blue as she reversed the forces of gravity on the kunai.

I planted my hand with curled fingers on Kakashi's chest and looked back at Sasuke. Blood stained the grass as it trickled from his neck. For the first time, I realized that the kunai was Espeon was holding was dripping blood.

"No!" I whispered, getting off of Kakashi and scrambling back my teammates. I could see Sasuke's face clearly now. His cheeks had dark splatters of blood on them. His headband had been knocked off, the metal plate dribbled with blood. Sasuke jerked into a position of agony as his life seemed to ebb away from him.

Fear erupted from me as the horrid scene turned more and more vivid. My emotions whirled and sent me into a dizzy spell of fear.

_No! No! No! No! No! No! His aura's still strong as ever. I can feel it! It's just a genjutsu! It's just a genjutsu!" _I screamed within my mind, forcing myself to believe my answer. I blinked, and the illusion was gone.

There sat Kakashi-sensei on top of a very grumpy-looking Sasuke.

"That's what happens on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage, and you have an impossible choice to make, and someone ends up dead," explained Kakashi, getting off Sasuke, who had looked quite relieved that his sensei had finally gotten off of him. "On _every _mission, your life is on the line."

Kakashi turned around and walked towards a rock that had been carved to look a bit like a sundial. On the front, there was a large flat side going up at a 90-degree angle, there were names inscribed into the pale cerulean marble.

"Did you look at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are all ninja that are honored as heroes in our village," asked Kakashi, not lifting his gaze from the surface.

"That's it! That's it! That's it! Now I know! I know that I'm going to have my name engraved on that stone! I'm not going to live and die for nothing, like a dog. I'm going to be a hero! A _hero_!" exclaimed Naruto

"They are, a special kind of hero," said Kakashi, quietly

"What kind of heroes are they? Come on, tell us!" called Naruto.

Kakashi made no reply.

"Well? Well?" asked Naruto.

"They are all, K.I.A." Kakashi finally replied.

"Oooh! That sounds real cool!" exclaimed Naruto.

"It means, Killed In Action. They all died," explained Sakura.

Naruto's expression changed quickly from glee and excitement to quiet sorrow. Everyone's did. I dropped my head, quietly into a dip of respect and sorrow. Espeon copied. I watched her tail droop a bit.

"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here," Kakashi, dropped his head as he replied.

Everyone fell quiet and solemn, dipping his or her heads with respect. Even Sasuke wore an expression of despair.

"Is…is that Obito?" I inquired timidly.

Kakashi was silent for a few moments, and then replied. "Yeah."

I dropped my gaze. All my senses went numb. All I wanted to do now was to curl into a tight ball at let all my feelings out, but I couldn't.

"Obito? Who's Obito?" Naruto asked.

I remained silent for a moment, sending a silent prayer that he was happy on Star Island with Latios, then, I turned to Naruto and answered. "Kakashi-sensei said that he was my older brother."

"Oh," Naruto whispered, his voice dropped to almost a whimper. Sakura's eyes were shining as though she was going to cry, Sasuke was just staring at the sky. I didn't bother to try and interpret his thoughts. At the time, they mean close to nothing to me.

"I know I never knew him but I feel really proud to be the sibling of a great hero of Konoha. I pledge here and now that I'll work better then my best to live up to his standards and carry his title proudly on my shoulders," I whispered, quietly but with great pride in my voice. My eyebrows lowered, forcing my eyes to display a determined look.

I watched Kakashi-sensei return my gaze and nodded definitely. I hoped that he approved of my new goal.

There was another long silence.

"Okay, I'm going to give you one more chance. But I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell, eat lunch now to build up strength, but, Naruto doesn't get any," stated Kakashi-sensei, ignoring the look of annoyance form Naruto. "It's your punishment for going off, and trying to each all by yourself, and if anyone tries to feed him, that person will instantly fail."

_He did? Would Naruto really do something like that? So that's the reason he's tied to that post. _

Naruto glared at Kakashi-sensei, as though he was daring him to say that he wouldn't get a lunch one more time.

"I make the rules. You follow them. Got it?" Kakashi-sensei stated very bluntly. His voice had a different edge to it now. Colder and more venomous. It put me off edge, making me edge away carefully to stand beside Naruto instead.

_We knew that before this all started! Sheesh!_

Kakashi handed out the three boxed lunches, and then left.

_He must want us to think up some sort of a plan for getting those bells, _I thought. _No duh he wants us to think of a plan! What else would he want us to do?_

I set my lunch a side and pulled out my pouch with all my herbs stacked inside instead.

_The welfare of my team is more important than filling my stomach._

I dressed Espeon's other injuries first, and was glad to find them not being anything more then a few scratches, with the exception of her twisted paw.

Once finished, Espeon sank down into the shade and lay her head onto her paws. Her coat now had some slimy, green patches and streaks on it.

I turned to the rest of my team and said, "Does anyone else's injuries hurt? Because I can treat them."

I didn't wait for a reply and approached Sasuke, and began to look at the scars on his face that he'd gotten when being pulled into the ground, while ignoring the cold stare he gave me.

I returned it to say that I wasn't going to back down.

"I'll need horsetail, goldenrod, and maybe a little dock," I muttered to myself.

I retreated by to my place and pulled out the herbs, and mixed the together into a creamy pulp. I added water so that it was more of a smoother ointment. Then I returned to Sasuke's side.

"These will sting, but they'll save you a lot of pain in the long-run," I explained, while applying it to his wounds by streaking it across his scratches. Sasuke nodded quietly, his eyes seemed to tell me that he was ready for the worst and/or bring it on!

I began to streak the green mixture onto Sasuke's scars. I felt Sasuke cringe, but he didn't struggle.

I teased him by giving him my 'I told you so' smile.

"Okay, Sasuke. You're done. Next Naruto."

"I'm going to be Hokage one day! I don't need healing for some simple taijutsu. But knew that Sasuke-teme would from being pulled into the ground," Naruto replied stubbornly.

"Suit yourself," I replied. "Sakura, you look fine. You don't need any herbs."

"Okay Naya," replied Sakura.

I went back to my place on the ground beside Sasuke. I uncapped the plain white, cardboard covering of my bento, revealing sweet rice, eggs, and a few, pieces of sushi.

I picked up a large sushi wrap and dropped it into my mouth. –"Mmm…" I murmured as I began to chew—I took as bit of rice and offered it to Espeon, who took it politely. Musing herself by watching the world around her. Her eyes followed stray leaves being tossed around in small snippets of breeze as she chewed the rice.

I pushed my lunch towards Espeon, having repeated out little ritual several times prior. I got up and approached the large memorial stone. I felt something being to eat away at my stomach, almost as though I didn't want to admit that my brother was dead—and if his name on the stone would prove it.

I looked at the panel, my eyes darting quickly around it, looking for a name that started with 'Uchiha', though I knew that I'd probably find many first. Toward the top, among the first names, my heart nearly faltered or hesitated from its usually rhythm. There was my brother's name. It was clear as day—sad—but it was the real deal.

'Uchiha Obito', is what it read—ever so bluntly—but true. More sadness tugged at my chest, making my heartbeats seem like loud, echoing pulses in silence. Then, all at once, I became very thoughtful as I looked over the names.

'Namikaze Minato', 'Hyuga Hizashi', 'Nawaki', 'Dan'—the names went on. None of which that I recognized. I felt partly relived by that piece of trivia.

_All these fights that have been experience by ninja who are no older or even younger than us! They risked their lives for one thing in common, something that they all care about. The Village. The love of the village ties everyone together. From the oldest elder to the youngest child, all coming out to wonder. That's the invisible tie that links us together. A tie—that can never be broken…_

_Loyalties._

I retreated a few steps, my back to the large memorial stone. Grief tugged at my chest.

_Why do I feel like this? I never even met him! It's like saying that your great-great grand uncle, twice removed just died! You'd have no idea who that even was! I think… I've never been in that kind of situation…_

I turned to look at the stone again. This time, I saw something even more chilling.

All of the surrounding area was flushed with the color, light, or shade of crimson—blood. A scream erupted from somewhere, which was quickly followed by the thudding of kunai knives hitting their targets. Another shriek erupted. Spatters of blood flew in every direction, much like sprinkler—I staggered back in horror—more screams and cries of pain emitted from the surrounding area. A body was thrown over the stone—I dared not to look directly at it. I could smell the harsh and metallic scent of blood on the victim's corpse. Enemy ninja flashed past my line of vision—I shrank away from every little movement. I felt my eyes grow wide with fear—a paper bomb exploded. Countless effects of nin-jutsu added more chilling effects to the scene—I forced myself to look at the memorial stone. I nearly fell over at the sight. Blood was oozing down its aged cracks and trickling into a puddle of blood with was forming around the base. More blood seemed to spurt from the stone.

_No! It's too much to take!_

I shied back, stumbling and landing on my butt in fear. I scrambled up as more fear pulsed through my mind. Half running, half shying back to my team, I backed away from that horrid scene. I felt my confidence fleeting from me.

"So this is what the like of a ninja's like…" I whispered hoarsely.

_Am I ready for this?_

I forced myself to take another bite of lunch. The more vivid effects from my experience were fading slowly, though not nearly quick enough for me to feel secure again. I knew that I must appear to be very pale, or maybe paper white. My limbs continued to tremble.

A nauseous growl erupted from my stomach. I gritted my teeth and pushed my lunch away from me.

I could see Espeon staring back at me with true curiosity at my newly acquired quirks and nervous habits.

A loud growl from Naruto's stomach interrupted the silence.

"This is no problem. I can go without eat for days, for weeks, believe it! This is no big deal!" Naruto's statement was interrupted by another loud growl from his stomach. His confidence sank a level or two. "No problem…"

There was a pause, and then. "Here," mumbled Sasuke, pushing his bento toward Naruto.

"No, Sasuke! You can't do that! You heard what the sensei said," protested Sakura. Her emerald eyes flicked from side to side nervously.

"Kakashi's gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If Naruto's hungry, he'll be weak and ineffective. That hurts the team, and jeopardizes the mission," Sasuke replied, staring steadily down.

There was truth in what Sasuke said. I had to admit that.

I nodded approvingly.

Even though mine was mostly eaten away from my partner and me, I felt no more intentions to eat. I looked to Espeon, silently asking if she wanted anymore. She stepped back. I stretched forward to offer it.

Sasuke turned as hissed at me out of the corner of his mouth. "You've already played your part in this team. This matter doesn't concern you."

"Still, it doesn't mean that I can't do more for my new team, does it?" I retorted.

Sasuke huffed. "Whatever."

Sakura took a long look at Naruto, then followed suit. "Here," she said, pushing her lunch towards Naruto.

"Sakura?" asked Naruto, his eyes flooding with tears. He straightened up and said, "Okay, thanks."

"Don't thank me. Just hurry up and eat," she replied

"But isn't that your lunch?" he protested

"Yyy—I—I er—I'm on a diet, I mean I don't eat as much as Sasuke, and Naya's shared most of her lunch with Espeon, not to mention that she's already played her role," she replied, as her nerve began to slip. "Just take it, Naruto!"

"I can't take it," he replied, wiggling around his hands which where bound by his wrists by the rope. "I mean, I can't move my hands, you've gotta feed me."

"What?" snapped Sakura, Her eyebrow twitched.

"Hurry up, he could come back any minute," hissed Sasuke urgently.

"Ahhrr…this just one time only. That's it! I'll never to this again! Is that clear?" Sakura hissed, taking a bit of rice in her chopsticks.

"Clear as a bell, Sakura," Naruto teased, accepting the rice, and swallowing it.

There was a giant banging noise, and a puff of gray smoke mixed with dust.

"YOU!" roared Kakashi-sensei, appearing from the smoke and looming over us like a mountain lion.

Naruto began to yell in fear, while Sakura cowered in to ball. I took Espeon in my arms and sheltered her, while Sasuke shielded the wind and dust from his eyes.

"You broke the rules, I hope you're ready for the punishment," Kakashi growled. He made three quick hand signs, and clouds appeared overhead, striking down lightning. "Any last words?"

A silence.

"B—but you said…" Naruto ventured.

"Yes?"

"But you said that there where four of us, that's what you, and that's why Sakura and Sasuke fed me and Naya healed us…" Naruto said, finishing timidly.

"We're all on this squad and we're all in it together!" Sasuke finished Naruto statement.

"Yeah! That's right, we gave our lunch to him because the four of us are one!" Sakura hissed boldly.

"You said teamwork was most important! And looking after your friends is more important then this test!" I hesitated before continuing.

"I'm not sure about everyone else, but if I'm the kind of trash that breaks the rules and regulations, I'll be proud that I did. If it means helping a comrade!" I yowled. I didn't know where these words came from. I just felt as though my heart was telling me to say them. I also noticed that I hadn't seemed like myself back then. I had seemed almost out of character.

I noticed that Kakashi-sensei cocked his head towards me as I spoke my statement. I blinked and looked again to see Kakashi looking back at the squad. I decided that had just been an illusion.

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Believe it! That's right!" yelled Naruto

"The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" growled Kakashi-sensei

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and I braced ourselves for Kakashi's wrath.

"Heh. You pass_,_"


	13. Training's Aftermath

"Heh. You pass_,_" he said, his expression completely changed.

"Huh?" inquired Sakura

"You pass," Kakashi-sensei repeated. I looked up, I could tell that he was smiling, his visible eye in a happy crease.

"What do you mean? How'd we pass?" inquired Sakura.

"You're the first squad that ever succeeded, the rest of them did exactly as I told them, and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves," Kakashi-sensei explained. The storm clouds were retreating. "A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum... that's true. However... those who abandon their friends...are worse than scum."

_Did he just basically say the same thing as I did?_

I heard everyone give a long sigh of relief. I allowed my muscles to relax.

Espeon let out a high-pitched cry of joy.

I ruffled the fur between her ears.

"Well, you know. He's kinda cool," said Naruto, his eyes flooding with tears of happiness.

"The exercise is over, everyone passes! Squad seven starts its first mission tomorrow!" instructed Kakashi-sensei, giving the squad a big thumbs-up

"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed

"Yes! I did it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" yowled Naruto, his eyes overflowing with tears.

"Let's go home," Kakashi-sensei turned and began walking out of the field, his back to the posts.

Sakura and Sasuke followed suit, I could feel them overflowing with pride, and I could also detect a lift of spirit in Sasuke's mind as well.

"I knew they'd do this! It happens every time!" roared Naruto. "You guys forgot to untie me… huh?"

_I'm not that idiotic!_

I pulled out a kunai knife and slashed through the cords.

There was short, crisp snap of the rope, and a thud from Naruto hitting the ground. He turned, and nodded a "thanks" to me, and he hurried after the others.

_Hm… I think this could be an awesome way to live_.

I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder and followed my teammates.

I stood up, Espeon at my side. Together we walked back to my apartment.

I made my way back to the village in silence. About half way to my apartment, I heard Sakura calling my name.

"Hey! Naya! Hold on a second! I have to tell you something!"

I stopped, and turned quietly. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Hey. Um… Naya, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. Those things I said, they were out of check. I didn't mean to hurt you," Sakura hung her head quietly, her voice sounded sincere. "So, um… no hard feelings?"

"None here, Sakura. Thanks," I replied, dipping my head in gratitude.

"Oh. That's good. Listen, I'm sorry about your brother," Sakura said.

"It's alright problem. Thanks, Sakura. Good night," I turned and continued walking.

As I did, I began to wonder about Obito. Who was he? What was he like? Am I anything like him?

I lay down on my bed back home, and began to think about my new teammates. Espeon lay next to me quietly.

_Naruto, he may be a pain in the neck, but he's got guts and determination. He's coped well with being all alone for his life, no one caring or looking after him. I couldn't have ever coped so well with this for my whole life. What had he been enduring? Loneliness? You gotta give him credit for all that._

_Sakura, she's okay, but she only cares for Sasuke, and all she wants is to get his love. Which I doubt will happen; from reading his aura he hasn't had attachment since the Uchiha massacre, at least. I hope she warms up to the thought of teamwork; she would be a vital part. She has the sharpest mind in the squad._

_Sasuke, he's a great ninja, though a little cold on the outside, but I can feel strong loyalties to Konoha. He's going to be a fine Aura-guardian. His ambitions come as no surprise to me, I hope he'll open up a bit, and realize that he's not enduring his pain about the Uchiha massacre alone. I feel it too, but not as strongly. What is he enduring though? Loneliness? Hatred? Sorrow? Confusion? Maybe even a little fear? But I think it's just a whirlwind of them all in his heart and mind. He'll warm up, I bet. Right now, he's probably just unsure with how he should be feeling. So, he's letting his thoughts about revenge cloud his emotions. I just think he needs someone to trust, and I hope he realizes that he can trust us, squad seven, and me._

"Come on, girl," I said to Espeon, breaking the silence. "Let's take a walk."

Outside, in the streets of Konoha, illuminated by a crimson light from the setting sun, I noticed Kakashi-sensei outside the bookstore. I approached quietly, while Espeon continued to limp painfully. Bending down, I picked her up.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes, Naya?" he replied.

"How did I do today in the exam?" I whispered. I didn't know why, but I was dreading the coming answer.

"Fairly well. You got the closest to guessing the true meaning of the exercise," he replied.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tell me, what made you pair up with Espeon?" Kakashi-sensei continued.

"Well, back in Johto, trainers battle their Pokémon with each other. Where the Pokémon does the actual battling, us trainers have to give them commands as what to do. I guess it was just instinct to pair up," I said staring up at the sky. "I'll admit that I miss is sometimes, but I love living in Konoha."

"I can understand that. But being a Leaf Shinobi will demand no split loyalties," explained Kakashi-sensei. It sounded as though he was trying to be gentle, but I could detect a strict tone behind his softer words. "Threats from neighboring nations will demand no wavering in loyalties. Understand?"

"Yes, Sensei," I murmured. "I had another question."

"Fire away."

"Why did you get so hard on Espeon?"

"That was to test your loyalties to each other. If you'd favored the bells over your partner, I really would've sent you back to the Academy. But, you two passed with flying colors."

I stared back at my sensei in awe. "Y…you sure?" I stammered.

He nodded. "I see now that you two have a very special connection—and I honor it." He stooped down to scratch Espeon between the ears. "Sorry about that pit-fall trap," he murmured to her.

Espeon smiled and mewed happily.

"She forgives you," I interpreted.

"Good," he replied. "I'll see you in training tomorrow." He turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait! About Obito. Am I anything like him? I mean, since he had his name inscribed into that stone, it's saying that he was a hero, right?" I called after him quickly before he could leave.

Kakashi glanced to the sky and sighed. "Yes, he was a true hero, I believe. He was killed on my first mission as a Jonin. You wouldn't know me then." He turned back around and walked away.

I could swear that I'd seen a glimpse of sorrow on my sensei's face. I sighed. I'd wanted to hear more about my brother. But I also decided that the sight of Kakashi-sensei looking at her oddly when I'd spoken during training was a real and no illusion.

I looked up. _Is Obito up there on Star Island with you, Latios? Does he watch me, or does he care? If he's there, then treat him well, my friend._

I passed by Ichiraku noodle shop. I could smell the delicious aroma waft into my nose as it took flight in the cool air.

"Come on, Iruka-sensei! One more bowl! Please!"

_Naruto?_

"Naruto! Do you want to eat me broke?"

_Iruka-sensei?_

"Come on! Please!"

"Oh alright, Naruto. You win."

"ALRIGHT! With extra barbequed pork!"

"Now, listen closely, Naruto. Now that you're a ninja, you must leave your old faults behind. Work hard, don't cut training, and most of all, just _try _to get along with Sasuke."

"Yeah right…"

I tried to move quietly so that I wouldn't be detected. I sort of wanted to be on my own now.

I walked home a slipped into bed after feeding all my Pokémon. I flipped on my back and stared at the ceiling. Iruka-sensei's words echoed in my head.

_I have to leave my old faults behind. I know that he was speaking to Naruto, but I can't help thinking that he sensed my presence and was pointing some of his statement at me. _

I fed Espeon properly. Then, I slipped into bed, and stared out the window beside my bed. Unable to sleep, I stared out at the silver moon. I've always liked the look of half the moon being visible and half of it shadowed.

_Your life is on the line on every mission. I hope I'm ready for this. Fighting for your village everyday. Hope I'm ready for this. _

I closed my eyes slowly. I could feel my body being eroded with exhaustion. I let myself rest.


	14. Words Unspoken

I woke early the next morning to sunlight streaming in through the window onto my face. The light seemed to dance around her room, bouncing off of mirrors and glass surfaces.

I swung myself out of bed and got dressed quickly. I slipped my Uchiha locket over my head, and ran a brush through my dark hair and tied on my forehead protector.

"Espeon, let's go!" I commanded, tossing her poke ball into the air to release her.

Espeon sprang gracefully from her poke ball, and landed lightly on her paws. She let out a high-pitched mew as a friendly greeting to me.

"Come on, girl," I called, beckoning with my hand. "We've got missions today. Let's go!"

I met my squad on a bridge in the center of Konoha. Sasuke was already waiting there, and he dipped his head in acknowledgement. I copied, blinking quietly.

_I wonder what we're doing today? And Kakashi-sensei had better not be late today! _

Ten minutes passed, Sakura arrived and began her usual, she began her flirting with Sasuke.

_So much for peace and quiet! Sasuke sure seems annoyed with Sakura. I should say something, but I just can't. But Iruka-sensei trusted me to keep everyone in line, but isn't that the sensei's job? Why is it so hard for me to stick up for myself? I did it all the time for my Pokémon in Johto. Why is it so hard to do now? I feel like I'm running in circles in my mind; I'm getting nowhere fast like this. Obito, help me! _I silently begged.

Seconds passed, the minutes felt like hours, and soon Naruto arrived, and began his usual ritual of glaring at Sasuke.

_Why did Iruka-sensei have to put __**me **__in such a hard spot? He said that it would benefit us all. I'm not quite sure if I believe that, yet. _

Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like eons, and before long the sun was high in the sky.

"It must be around noon, now," I muttered to Espeon who was sitting beside her, looking very bored. Her usually alert eyes were drooped, and the split ends of her tail twitched occasionally. "Sorry, girl. I don't think it will be long."

Minutes turned to hours, but eventually, and then I felt the aura presence of our very late sensei.

_Oi! About time! _

"Yo! Sorry I'm late, afraid I got lost on the path of life," he fibbed shamelessly.

"Oi! A lie!" yelled Sakura and Naruto in unison.

"Anyway. Today is our first mission as a squad," said Kakashi-sensei, ignoring Naruto and Sakura. "So what are you standing around here for? Let's go."

"If you'd been here two hours earlier when you were supposed to, we'd be getting a second mission right now," I heard Naruto mutter through gritted teeth.

Kakashi-sensei led us into a room in the Ninja Academy building. Inside was a long table at the back of the room. Sitting behind it was the Hokage, Iruka-sensei, and a number of other men that I didn't recognize.

_What? Why's Iruka-sensei here? Doesn't he have a class of academy squirts to teach today? Oh yeah! I forgot, today's SUNDAY. Heh…_

I looked up to see Iruka-sensei beaming at me. I didn't return it. My inside felt hollow. I guess that it was only natural for me to feel sad right now, but Iruka-sensei didn't know about her brother, I don't think. I did he best to fake a smile, but it was like speaking empty words full of lies. I shook her head, I needed to lift her spirits a notch or two.

The Third Hokage straightened up, and addressed the squad, "Ah, Kakashi's squad. Since you are just beginning genin, you will start out with D-rank missions. Hm, here's one that should fit your level. Your mission is: go down to the river, and pull up the pond weed on the bottom."

"Pull weeds out of a muddy, old river?" exclaimed Naruto indignantly. "Are you kidding me?"

"Will you put a lid on it, Naruto?" hissed Sakura. "A mission is a mission."

"Yeah, but…" Naruto's replied was cut off by Kakashi-sensei knocking him in the back of the head.

"Let's go," said Kakashi-sensei, dragging Naruto by the back of his collar towards the door. We all followed quietly; our heads down.

I began to consider using Espeon to help with the mission, as Kakashi-sensei marched us to the river, his hand still grasping Naruto's collar.

_It would make the mission go faster, but would it be fair to the rest of the team? Well, she hasn't had a chance to swim for awhile now, so I think I'll let her out, but not ask her to pull the weeds._

Soon, I was the river coming into my sight range through the dense trees. The current was moving fast, and looked quite strong.

"Umm… How are we supposed to get the weeds out?" inquired Sakura

"It's so basic. You go into the river, swim around the bottom, and pull up the weeds," replied Kakashi-sensei, pulling out his book.

"Swim? In _that _current? We'll get swept away!" Sakura protested.

I bit my nerve quickly and dove into river's pulsing current. The cold water pulsed against my face while churning against my body. My clothes hung heavily to my body, weighing me down. Swimming quickly to the bottom, I grabbed a large handful of pondweeds, and swam to the surface quickly. Surfacing quickly, I dropped her handful of pondweed on the bank of sun-baked rocks, and dived again.

"See? Naya's got the hang of it," I heard Kakashi-sensei say over the roaring of the blood in my ears and the pulsing of the water against me. "Now, hurry up!"

I heard the splashing noises from under the surface, which signaled that the rest of the squad had just dove in. Kicking back up the surface with another haul of pondweeds. I saw Espeon stretched out on top a large, flat rock warmed by the sun. I also noticed that Kakashi-sensei hadn't joined us, yet. He was sitting up on a large willow branch in the shade, and of course, reading his book.

"Just asking, Sensei. Why aren't you doing this with us?" I inquired

"Oh, me? I have to keep a lookout to make sure everything is alright up on shore," he replied drily, not taking his eyes of his book.

"Um—Okay?" I whimpered.

_Give me a break!_

Another splash of water, another a shower of water drops next to me announced the surfacing of Sasuke. He carried with him large handfuls of pondweeds. His spiky, dark hair now hung down the back of his head, with mud streaked along it.

Sakura surface next, she was carrying barely any weeds. Her light pink hair was spattered with the browns and grays of the river's mud and clay from the bottom.

"How much longer do we have to keep this up?" protested Naruto, who'd just surfaced, and appeared to be speaking through a mouthful of mud.

_That was your first time to the bottom and you're already complaining? Great StarClan! This'll be a very long day…_

"Just until you thin out the weeds on the bottom. Many other people come to swim here, and the weeds have just stopped growing for the season," Kakashi replied, not looking up from his book

"Sensei, why are you reading that book?" inquired Naruto, shaking his spiky, blond head back and forth, scattering mud in all directions.

"Oh, this? This book? It builds character, and is very interesting," he replied, not looking up in the slightest.

"Why did I even bother to ask?" muttered Naruto, diving under the surface again.

I followed quickly. The light underneath the river water glowed a sea-glass green, with channels of light slicing through the surface. Down by the bottom, I spotted a small school of fish swimming round the channels of light. I blinked quietly as I passed him, and gathered up another bundle of weeds. I propelled myself effortlessly and swiftly through the powerful current broke the surface.

"Yuck!" Naruto sputtered, spraying the bank with mud from his spiky, blond hair. "How much more of this do we have to do?"

"That all depends on how fast you get the job done," Kakashi-sensei remarked drily.

"Great," Naruto muttered, annoyed.

_A mission's a mission! Only ninja carry out missions, so shut up, and start acting like one! _

Sasuke surfaced, landing on the bank on the far side of Naruto. Sakura followed. If you had never seen her before, you'd think that she had brown hair. That's how much mud was in her hair.

I reached up and felt the top of her head. It was coated with wet, slippery clay. I hadn't even noticed.

I dived again. The school of fish was now missing from the bottom of the river. I couldn't say I blamed them at all. Considering all the noise and ruckus we were making.

I surfaced again. My eyes directed to a large mass or dark substance that came shooting past my face.

"Ack!" I cried and disappeared under the water once again.

A muffled thud and a growl could be heard beneath the great roar of the river.

Timidly, I surface again. "What in the world was that?" I hissed.

Naruto was laughing and pointing stupidly over my head. "Haha, Sasuke-teme!"

I turned to see that Sasuke was shaking his head rapidly. Small spatters, accompanied by large sheets of mud came spinning off of his head and his hair.

A large splatter came shooting at my face. A sickening splatter followed. I quickly became aware of one of my eye's vision being blocked.

"Watch it!" I cried, while de-sliming my eye.

I could sense Sakura babbling and scolding at me to be nicer to Sasuke. I zoned out. I turned to Naruto, only to see a large, brown blur heading toward my face. I ducked quickly in time to see the brown blur shoot over my head.

"What was that?"

"Mud ball!" he cried joyfully. "I need to work on my aim."

"But it hardly matters, seeing as ninja use kunai and shuriken in the heat of battle," I reasoned.

"Hey! Great idea! Thanks, Naya!" Naruto cried.

"No! I didn't mean—" I sputtered.

"Okay, then I think we're done," said Kakashi-sensei, leaping down from the branch the tree that he'd been sitting on this whole time. "Very good timing, I just finished a chapter in my most interesting book. With the completion of squad 7's first mission, I've decided to treat you all to dinner tonight. The place is your choice. You'll have until sundown to decide. Dismissed."

"Ohhh! Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen!" exclaimed Naruto immediately at the news of a free dinner at their restaurant of choice.

"I'll be fine with whatever Sasuke-kun wants!" said Sakura in her normal flirting-tone of voice.

"Fine by me," I replied, really not caring where we went. I turned to Sasuke, and said, "Next lesson is tonight after dinner. On the dock."

"Okay, then, Naya," he replied in his usual distant way.

"What lesson?" inquired Kakashi-sensei.

"Yeah! Why does the great Uchiha get extra help?" demanded Naruto in a bitter reply.

"Oh...um…that's something that's just between us, and no one else," I said quickly, dropping my eyes to Espeon, who was rubbing her head against my thighs. I reached down and patted the top of her head quietly. I could feel my cheeks heating up. I knew that my face must appear fairly red.

_Sweatdrop_

I glanced over at Sasuke and saw that his emotion was almost unreadable. He was staring half at the ground and half at me. His eyes were shadowed, and he appeared to be thinking deeply about something.

One of aura's abilities was telepathy to other people and Pokémon. But the catch is that the user must be mostly relaxed and/or calm. It's that or the one using the telepathy must be at a good level and their aura's spirit must be strong. Gathering her focus into her message the thought these words clearly in her mind.

"_Sasuke, can you hear me? Don't be afraid, it's only telepathy. This is what my voice will sound like when I'm using my telepathy, and this is how it should feel to you._

I saw Sasuke nod his head quietly. Apparently he had received my telepathy message. I was glad.

"Well, if everyone agrees, Ichiraku it is," Kakashi-sensei said. "See you then." There was a puff of smoke and Kakashi-sensei was gone.

"I'm heading home," I announced. "Remember, the dock after dinner." I muttered to Sasuke. He nodded curtly.

I called Espeon to my side and walked off.

About half way back to my apartment, a thought crossed my mind.

_I haven't spoken to, or even seen Hinata since Orientation Day. Wonder how she is. I'll track her down._

"Aura!" I pronounced, my 'aura-eye' opening. I quickly spotted her walking toward the Hyuga clan's main household.

I hurried off quickly.

Espeon had no trouble keeping in synch with my strides. I kept my aura-eye watching her carefully. I turned around a corner and found Hinata leaning against a tree, thinking deeply about something.

"Hi, Hinata. Long time, no speak," I said while striding forward.

Espeon mewed a quiet greeting.

"Good afternoon, Naya-chan, Espeon-chan," she whispered.

"And to you too," I returned, dipping my head. "How've you been?"

"Fine. How've you and Naruto-kun been?" she stammered quietly.

"I've been great and Naruto's been the same knucklehead that we all knew at the academy. What was your first mission today?"

"We went to the bookstore and shelved and dusted the books," Hinata whispered. "What about you?"

"We pulled weeds out of a muddy, old river. It wasn't the best experience that I've had in my life. But it wasn't the worst either."

"I have to go," Hinata said, staring at the ground. "It was nice to talk to you again, Naya-chan. Good-bye."

"See you, Hinata-chan," I returned. I watched Hinata, turn and walk towards the main household of the Hyuga clan. I began regretting not telling her about Obito, but I brushed it away. I needed more time to recover from learning about his fate before I told everyone about it.

I changed courses, and decided to head for the training field for some quick shuriken training before I met her squad. Espeon still walked at my side. As I reached the edge of the field, I saw a dark silhouette of another person. They were sitting quietly, their back propped up against a tree, and they appeared to be meditating. I took a few steps closer and quickly made out the silhouette to belong to Sasuke.

"Well, well, Sasuke. Didn't expect to see you out here," I greeted warmly, striding closer.

Sasuke looked up, dipped his head to me, keeping a level gaze, and continued to build his aura.

"Your aura levels are coming along smoothly and swiftly. You're doing great," I praised.

"Hn. Okay then, Naya," Sasuke muttered in his usual emotionless, quiet way.

I walked over to the shuriken post that Naruto had been tied to about twenty-four hours ago. I removed a shuriken from my holster and threw it. I watched it spin.

Spin! Spin! Spin!

THUNK!

The small, whirling tool embedded itself deeply into the post. I watched the post's splinter marks run up and down it. A fearing thought arose from me.

_What if I split the post in half! Kakashi-sensei would either be steamed or find it fairly amusing. I think that latter would be highly unlikely though…_

Sweatdrop.

I smiled to myself.

_What's meant to happen, will happen._

I looked at the sky. The sun had nearly dropped behind the Hokage monument, saying that it was about five thirty.

"It's getting late, I'm going to go and meet the squad," I called, beckoning to Espeon. I motioned with my head to Sasuke to come if he wanted to. He accepted, and followed. No words were uttered or spoken as we walked.


	15. A Skipped Lesson

At Ichiraku ramen, Naruto was already waiting, which didn't surprise me, because he'd set the record of eating the most ramen in Konoha. We waited in silence.

Twenty minutes passed, and Sakura arrived. I caught the scent of shampoo in Sakura's blossom-pink hair. And I noticed that all the clay that had once stained her hair just a few hours before was completely gone.

Another twenty minutes gone, half an hour gone, and everyone became severely bored.

Naruto, who'd been strangely quiet for the past hour or so, finally lost his patience and cried out, "When Kakashi-sensei gets here, and I'll flatten him! Believe it!"

Sakura joined him by yowling, "It's not fair! He sets the time, and we have wait hours for him! In that time that we've waited, I could've gotten rid of my split ends! Cha!"

I turned to Sasuke and whispered, "If Kakashi-sensei isn't here in half an hour, and we'll have a mentoring session tomorrow at dawn. That okay with you?"

Sasuke nodded and blinked quietly. I could see that Sasuke was deep in thought about something. Then suddenly, it hit me like a stone.

_This is the five year mark of the Uchiha massacre. No wonder Sasuke seems more distant then usual. I wonder why no one else noticed the date. _

Ten minutes passed, and I dropped my gaze and awakened my 'aura-eye' and glanced around for Kakashi-sensei. I quickly spotted him. He was striding straight towards them, wearing a completely innocent expression.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late. Afraid I got lost on the path of life," Kakashi bluffed, his tone matching his expression.

"Oi! You liar!" yelled Naruto and Sakura in unison.

"Well, instead of yelling at your sensei, who is going to treat you to dinner, shouldn't we just go inside and eat?" Kakashi inquired, still shameless.

"Fine," Sakura replied drily, stepping inside.

"Alright! Let's eat!" yowled Naruto.

I called Espeon back to her poke ball and followed. Sasuke proceeded in without a word. I noticed that Sasuke choose a seat up against the wall. He turned his head, and just stared blankly at it. I could easily feel that he was feeling really sad about the massacre. I tried to think of something to say to try and relax him, but nothing came to mind.

"Four large ramen!" Naruto yowled, pointing at us to indicate whom he was speaking for. He left out Sasuke.

"Don't be an idiot!" Sakura punched him.

"What, Sakura-chan?" Naruto sputtered.

"You forgot Sasuke-kun!" she spat.

"I'm sure that the great Uchiha Prince is capable for speaking for himself!" Naruto replied cleverly.

Sakura leered at Naruto.

Naruto cringed.

Sasuke shrugged, as though he'd only just heard Naruto's comment. He didn't reply.

"So, will that be four or five bowls ramen?" demanded the shopkeeper. "I have many other costumers to serve so please make up your mind."

"Five," I replied quickly before Naruto could think up another smart-mouthed retort.

"…to start with!" Naruto replied hastily.

I shrugged and looked back at Sasuke. While I watched him silently, I felt his aura growing deeper and sadder. I felt worry tugging at me as well as the same kinship emotion that I had felt at the dock.

_Sasuke. I wish that you would understand that no one blames you because of the massacre. It was Itachi's fault. And you shouldn't be so hard on yourself about not being strong enough; you were only seven and a half. _

I brought into consideration of sending him my thoughts through telepathy, but voted against it.

_He doesn't need anyone else reminding him of that dreaded day._

When the ramen came, Naruto slurped his up quickly, and ordered more. Everyone else ate quietly. Sakura began asking Kakashi-sensei about tomorrow's mission, while Naruto continuously tried either to get a glimpse of Kakashi-sensei book or what was under his mask. Both operations went unsuccessful.

I glanced over at Sasuke; he had barely touched his ramen, and was just staring into nothing. As though his eyes had slid out of focus or just staring into a dark vortex of emotion that simmered just beneath the surface.

_This must be the worst day of the year for Sasuke. But, that's perfectly understandable. Maybe there is a way that I could use to make him relax. I'm sure there is, but why won't it reveal its self to me?_

When we finished, Kakashi-sensei paid, and then dragged Naruto outside and began chasing him all over Konoha for eating twelve bowls of ramen. Sakura watched with an exasperated look on her face. I headed out for the dock, while Sasuke took another path. I understood if Sasuke wanted to be alone and didn't follow.

When I reached to dock, I sat down on the end and skipped rocks across the surface. I waited and waited for what seemed like ages. I watched the sun sink behind the Hokage monument, turning the sky a deep red and then to a dark midnight blue.

Finally, feeling a bit uneasy about why Sasuke wasn't here yet. I opened my 'aura-eye'. I glanced around Konoha and saw many things. I saw that Naruto was practically being torn to shreds by Kakashi-sensei on top of the fourth Hokage's stone face, that Iruka-sensei was in the academy grading papers, and that Ino and Sakura where in the park going head-to-head with a blizzard-fierce argument over something completely random.

Finally, I spotted Sasuke, but he wasn't coming to the dock. He had gone to the Uchiha's corner of the village, and I could see that he was feeling miserable.

_Okay, Sasuke. I'll cut you some slack __**today**__, but you shouldn't expect this on regular basis._

I lay awake in her bed that night. After a quick shower, I'd been glad that all that clay had come out of my hair. Thunder and lightning tore across the sky as bullet-sized raindrops pounded at my window. For some reason I seemed to sense the auras of people that were very close by to her, but I saw no one.

_What are all these auras I'm feeling? Do they even exist? Or am I just going insane? Or, are they spirits? The spirits of the Uchiha shinobi who were slain in the massacre? No way! How could __**I **__sense the auras of spirits? I'm not even sure if that possible. I'm must be so tired that my aura is malfunctioning._

I slipped away into sleep with my mind swimming with all the auras. Confusion grasped me with claws sharp as senbon needles, and I awoke with a start. Peering outside, the faint glow of the full moon was just visible from behind the receding storm clouds. Feeling tired still, I slumped back into my pillow, and fell asleep.

The morning dawned on damp, wet, and misty weather. To me, it wasn't the most ideal weather for doing missions, but I wasn't about to just walk up to the top of a mountain and complain to the sky.

_I hope Sasuke is better today. He was feeling pretty miserable yesterday._

I was first to the bridge, and released Espeon from her poke ball. Espeon leaped gracefully on to the railing of the bridge, placed her front paws on my shoulder, and rubbed her muzzle against my lower jaw. I smiled.

Sakura arrived next, flanked by Naruto about twenty minutes later.

Forty minutes passed and Sasuke still hadn't come. I felt worry and unease start to eat away at my conscience.

"Aura!" I whispered. I could easily pick out Sasuke's chakra from amongst the many other chakras in the village. He's at home, in his room, lying down, I think. And, I can feel that his energy is lower than normal. Kakashi-sensei is with him too. They're talking…

_What are they doing? Could Sasuke be sick? Because he seemed fine yesterday. Should I go and find out? Nah, if I go, I just know that Sakura would follow with Naruto at her heels like an annoyingly obedient dog. Hope he's okay…_

I continued to watch the movement occurring between Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke hadn't moved from his lying down position in his bed, while Kakashi remained standing. Then Kakashi's aura disappeared, and he reappeared in a cloud of white smoke on the bridge.

"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late. Afraid I got lost on the path of life," he fibbed worse then usual.

"Sure, yeah, **whatever**!" I snapped sharply. This got everyone's attention; normally I would just stay silent and care in the least about Kakashi-sensei's weak excuses. I felt Naruto and Sakura's gazes burning into my neck, but I paid them no notice. "So why isn't Sasuke here? And don't lie because I know, that you know the answer!"

"Yes, um... Well, Sasuke stayed out late last night in the Uchiha corner of the village in that downpour we had last night. He returned home at dawn, feeling feverish. So, he gets the day off today," recited Kakashi.

_Should've guessed that he'd stay out late last night. Still, I would think that he'd still try to come to training today. Sasuke isn't one to miss out on training easily. Let alone the second day!_

_Another thing, Sasuke never missed a day at the academy. I've watched him work past things much worse then a fever back then. Why is it getting the best of him now? He's stubborn if nothing else, I'll give him that. _

"What?" yelped Naruto "So the great Uchiha-teme gets special treatment, eh?"

"Stop it, Naruto!" barked Kakashi-sensei sternly. "Sasuke's fever is much higher then a normal one. So put a lid on it!"

I looked back at my sensei confused.

_Is Sasuke's fever really that serious? Can't be! Can it? And why? Does this happen every year?_

Naruto scowled, but shut up. While, Sakura's face was lined with her normal fan girl love for Sasuke, though paler then normal.

I turned and looked up at the sky, and whispered, "May heart give him strength though this." It was a prayer that was held sacred in Johto.

One starlight night, a giant tidal wave swooped down from the north towards a small city called Alto Mare. The city guardians, Latios and Latias, combined their powers and charged the wave, and defeated it. But Latios had been badly wounded. Latias remained at his side until the dawn when he died. Latias was distraught. Latios had meant everything to her. But, up to this day, Alto Mare honored Latias and Latios as the guardian hearts of their town. And that's where the 'heart' from the lore came from.

I have the power to summon Latias with my telepathy ability. I met her on my Pokémon journey, and we had become very close. Back when I had recently moved to Konoha, I would to summon her all the time because I felt alone, and Latias knew what it was like to lose someone close.

"Well, enough time spent here, time for our mission. We're going to the bookshop to dust and shelve books, let's go," Kakashi said, walking off toward the shop.

"What? Shelve books in a moldy shop that older then old man Hokage? You've got to be kidding me!" whined Naruto in a very naive way.

"Knock it off, Naruto! A mission is a mission!" yelled Sakura

_So this is the same mission that Hinata did yesterday. No offence to shopkeepers, but this seems like it's going to be a really boring mission. Standing in a mossy old shop all day?_

Kakashi turned and began to walk first, we followed in a single-file line. Naruto bouncing forward first, with Sakura walking after him, and I took up the rear.

The bookshop was just as Naruto had described it. It was old, musty, dim, and smelled like old moss. Books were shelved on the wall, as well as in olivewood shelves placed in two rows in the center of the shop. The checkout desk was arched around a door that led to the back room, on the back wall. The door squeaked when it was opened, and the wood on the floor felt rotten when stepped on.

_This place is almost creepy. It's like a dark ally way._

A shopkeeper approached us as soon as we set foot inside the threshold. She handed Kakashi-sensei a few polishing rags.

"Now all you have to do is to polish the labels, and titles on the bookshelves. The squad that was here yesterday did all the dusting," the shopkeeper replied. "If you need me, I'll be in the back room."

I took a rag and started in the A-D section of the books. As I began to polish I began to think. _Sasuke, you're so lucky to miss today. Espeon can see into the future, and she told me that after this, we're going to dig up potatoes. Crap. But still, I have Hinata to thank for just having to polish the books. I bet that Shino's insects worked miracles at this. _

We finished within two hours, but to me, it felt like eons. After we stepped outside, Kakashi-sensei marched us back to the mission counter, and sure enough, Espeon was right, we were going to dig up potatoes.

_Oh joy. Now we get to dig up lumpy, brown vegetables. Just great._

After another long two and a half ours of digging a sun-baked garden. We went back to the academy room to get their pay, after that, Kakashi-sensei dismissed us.

I brushed most of the dirt off my face, and decided to see how my apprentice was getting on.

I walked to Sasuke's home. As I did, I opened my 'aura-eye' to be on my guard. I remembered one of Iruka-sensei's pet sayings, " a ninja is always on their guard," and I lived by that saying, and it never hurt to strengthen my aura's power. I neared the outside the door to Sasuke's home, an odd sensation come over me, and I hesitated.

_What is this? It's the same as last night, all the auras of people that don't even exist are visible to my 'aura-eye', but are they even there? I don't think so. But, all the auras are clear, un-blurred. Are they people that I met before? Yes! Of course! They must be all Uchihas', but their auras still should be blurred, so why am I feeling them? Had I met them back when I lived in the Uchiha clan, but I didn't have this ability, did I? Enough Naya! You're thinking to hard! You're just here to visit Sasuke-sempai, what so mysterious about __**that**__?_

I shook my head and righted myself and took the handle again. I could still feel that Sasuke's chakra was still weak and small. The energy wasn't collected like it was when someone was nervous or anxious, or extremely extended when someone is in a fury. This was just, plain weak.

"Sasuke!" I called through the door. "May I come in?"

"Fine," Sasuke replied hoarsely through the door.

I opened the door and slipped inside.

Sasuke was sitting up in bed, starring a scroll about the sharingan eye. I noticed that he looked very pale and I could feel the waves of heat coming from him. He also looked fairly tired.

"How are you, Sasuke?" I whispered quietly. "Kakashi-sensei told us that you were sick. You okay now?"

"Fine, I guess."

I looked at him again through my 'aura-eye', and I that his fever was just the result of going back to the Uchiha corner of the village. Sasuke was thinking very deeply of the Uchiha clan. Then, I saw something else; a younger version of Sasuke. His eyes were clears and happy and full of curiosity. He looked so happy and determined.

_Where did that Sasuke go? Did he just vanish on the night of the massacre? Or is he buried beneath all the lust for revenge and hate? Or is this just an illusion?_

"You didn't miss much today. We went to the bookshop and dusted books, and then after that, we went and dug up potatoes. It wasn't exactly enjoyable," I reported, pushing that image of the younger Sasuke out of my mind.

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes.

I was about to say something else when I heard footsteps outside. I concentrated carefully on the beats and frequency of the steps and I quickly made out that they belonged to Sakura. My theory was proven true when there was a knock on the door, and that voice of Sakura called," Sasuke-kun! Can I come in?"

Sasuke muttered a reply, "fine."

Sakura slipped in the door and shut it behind her. I moved aside to allow SakSakura some space. The, I began to regret doing that, because Sakura began her normal flirting with Sasuke.

_Nice move, Naya! Now Sasuke's going to annihilate me! Just great._

"I have to go, Sasuke. Hope to see you tomorrow!" I whispered quietly. Sasuke blinked and nodded once. I moved to the door, slipped outside and closed it behind me.

I released Espeon, and headed to the entrance to the village. There was a small grove near the outside, where I grew her healing herbs, and the crop of catmint, feverfew, and coltsfoot should be just right for picking.

I knelt down and began to harvest the fresh herbs. Espeon lay near by in a small clump of ferns. I became very thoughtful and began to think of my past.

The night before graduation day, the third Hokage had called me to his home to tell me about my past. He had told me that my history was in bits and pieces, but most of it was known.

My father had been killed on a mission, and an unknown person had murdered her mother. But the murder was believed by most was Uchiha Madara, a legendary shinobi that had lead the Uchiha clan once, though it was still unknown how he could be alive. The Hokage at the time, thought that it would be best for me to grow up away from the shinobi world, because my parents hadn't been killed for no good reason, and their killers could come after me next. So, I was sent away to live in a distant land and somehow, I had wound up in Johto, where I was raised as the child of two breeders who owned a Pokémon breeding center. They taught me the secrets of the aura and how sense it and create the aura sphere.

For sometime, I had no idea that I had been adopted, so I lived like any other trainer, receiving my first Pokémon at the age of ten and starting my journey. But when I turned eleven, I received a call from Prof. Elm, from New Bark Town, which was my foster hometown, saying that the had just endured a fierce storm and my house had been struck by lightning which killed my parents.

When I returned home, I was told of my parent's dying will that was for me to return to Konoha, which was the real place of my birth. For some time, I pondered at my reason for being in Johto in the first place, but I had to obey my parent's will, as a last thank you for raising me.

For a long time, I wondered how to return to Konoha for Johto. It wasn't on any maps or even spoken of by distant travelers. Then, under the light of the full moon, Latias came to be and brought Espeon and me to Konoha through a Gap in Time, she called it.

To this day, I've lived in Konoha and never gave my old life another thought. Something inside me told me all the time that Konoha was my place to exist. A true paradise for me to grow in. I still had my regrets for leaving my old team behind, but all in all, I knew it was for the best. They wouldn't be able to battle like they did before, and rather just be treated as retired pets, and I knew that wasn't their destiny or desire.

Espeon's ears pricked up as she heard approaching footsteps.

I looked over at Espeon and whispered, "Espeon? What's wrong?"

Espeon flicked her tail in the way that the footsteps were coming.

_From the beats of the steps and my psychic ability, it's Kakashi. He's coming out here to find Naya and is worried. His emotions are strong, _Espeon thought to herself.

I looked up and saw Kakashi-sensei walking towards me. I got to my feet and dipped my head to my sensei in a greeting. "Evening Kakashi-sensei. How are you?"

"There's no time for that! Come quickly! It's Sasuke! He fell into a nightmare and he won't wake up!" Kakashi explained quickly.

I had always seen Kakashi-sensei as a really easy-going and coolheaded person, and becoming panicked and frantic were two things that he wouldn't do.

I scrambled to my feet quickly and beckoned to Espeon to follow, and hurried into the village with Kakashi-sensei running at her side.

"So, what exactly happened to Sasuke?" I asked not breaking my gait.

"I heard all this from Sakura. From what she said, Sasuke seemed to slip away into sleep, and at the time Sakura was completely unconcerned. But then his fever rose and is currently dangerously high. He also began to toss around as though he was trapped in a fight within his mind," explained Kakashi-sensei in a hurried way.

"Is he still at home or in the hospital?"

"Home, we haven't tried moving him yet."

"Who's _we_?"

"Me, Sakura, and Naruto."

"Okay then," _If he's tossing around in his sleep I guess it could easily be either his fever or a bad dream. I can break him out of both with my aura ability. No sweat… I hope._

Kakashi opened the door to Sasuke's apartment in a hurried, rushed way. Upon the sound, Sakura and Naruto whirled around and met me full in the face.

"Naya! Please help Sasuke-kun! Kakashi-sensei said that you could!" pleaded Sakura. Her eyes were stained and shining with tears from her fan girl love for Sasuke

"Calm down, Sakura-san. I'll do my best."

I blinked and calmed my frayed nerves. I had never been best with people watching me. But this time was different and I had to work better then my best now to help a comrade. I dropped on to a small stool next to Sasuke's bed. Lifting my head, I breathed in a soft breeze flowing in through a crack in the door.

"I can do it! I've got to! For Sasuke's sake!" I whispered, narrowing my eyes to focus.

I lifted my hands and made the horse hand seal, and breathed in again. Then, I awakened my aura and my heart seemed to glow with my aura's light, which I had been told was a bright scarlet red.

I cleared mind and read Sasuke's. I saw that he was dreaming of the Uchiha massacre. His dream or more vision was very vivid and fierce with emotion and images of the past. To me, it looked as though Sasuke was being tortured by one of the sharingan's powers. Around me, I began to feel the energy and expressions of Sasuke's dream. His body began to tremble and quiver. I began to think of a happy time that Sasuke had once seen.

_He told me once, of a time when he was actually happy. The time before the massacre…when everything was right. I have to bring that back up to the surface, make him concentrate on that one memory. _

I poured all my aura's power into breaking the dream. It was more difficult then I'd initially thought because the dream was filled with so many emotions. But when I sensed that Sasuke's body stopped jerking and his mind became clear, I was sure that I had completed step one; shatter the nightmare.

Step two would be easy, I knew. I focused again, my spine becoming rigid and my muscles tense as I watched the memory I was pushing into Sasuke's mind. It was the same one that I'd seen on orientation day. I knew that would calm Sasuke down quite a bit. I saw him begin to relax, and I released my connection with him. I sat up blinking several times while my breathing was hard. I felt many sweat drops roll down the back of my neck as I sat up.

I glanced over at Sasuke. His eyelids fluttered and opened as he sat up also breathing hard. I could easily see that his fever was gone all he needed was rest.

"Naya, that was amazing!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Oh yeah. What did she do?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"Naya-san just saved you from a nightmare, Sasuke-TEME!" barked Naruto hotly.

"I saw nothing of the sort, and I did not need to be _rescued _from a nightmare," he snapped back sharply.

"You're not supposed to. My ability is silent and you will not see a thing," I whispered, not meeting Sasuke's cold gaze. I added to myself, _I can tell that Sasuke's fine, since he's back to his cold, emotionless self._

"Well done, Naya," Kakashi-sensei praised quietly. "You may not think highly of yourself, but you've just gotten a bit stronger."

"Thank you, sensei," I whispered. _I beg to differ. _"We should leave Sasuke to gets some rest, so he can join us tomorrow,"

"Good idea, Naya," agreed Kakashi-sensei, walking toward the door. "Let's go. Come on! Out!"

"Good night, Sasuke-kun," called Sakura following Kakashi-sensei.

Naruto said nothing but tossed Sasuke a glare of rivalry, and followed.

I dipped my head to Sasuke and blinked with compassion, as I stepped out the door, and closed it.

That night, I lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.

_Could all these auras I feel be linked to Sasuke's fever? I'll make a guess to say that they all belong to members from the Uchiha clan, but still. Should I be able to feel them at all? Well, I'll have to find these answers for myself. There' no one to ask anymore. Maybe there's some kind of Uchiha clan shrine or something where I might be able to find some answers._

I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to take me. That night, I dreamed of what I thought the Uchiha clan had been like before the massacre. Most of the visions that I saw were from Sasuke's memories. I saw the Uchiha crest inscribed on almost everything to show the people's pride. I watched Itachi walking home with a Sasuke who looked to be around seven. They both looked so different. Sasuke looked so happy and relaxed, and clearly loved Itachi a lot back then. While Itachi, looked very focused, and seemed to have the makings of a very fine shinobi.

_If Itachi had all this and was the pride of the Uchiha clan, why in the world would he wipe them all out? It makes no sense what so ever. And why would he just leave Sasuke alive? From what he told me and what I've seen, Itachi said that he left him alive because he was too weak to even bother killing. But could there be another reason? Love? No way! If it was love, then he might've left his family alive too. Or did he only leave Sasuke alive because he was too young to be all wrapped up in whole massacre. I don't know! _


	16. Crazy Feline!

I woke later then normal the next morning. I glanced at my clock and saw that it was 6:45. Suddenly, I was wide-awake! I felt energy rushing through my body, giving my muscles strength and power.

_I have to meet the squad in fifteen minutes! How did I over sleep? Did I use too much of my aura's power yesterday?_ _No time to think now, Naya! Get a grip!_

_Five minutes left! _I thought as I raced down the road to the bridge to meet my squad mates. I saw the bridge coming into view as I raced around a corner. I saw that everyone was there, (except for Kakashi, of course!) I called out, "Hey! Sorry I'm late! I overslept!" I skidded to a halt on the bridge and doubled over breathing hard.

"Morning, Naya!" called Sakura cheerfully.

"Kakashi-sensei is late, _again_! Believe it!" announced Naruto. Naya could see that his patience was cracking.

"Yeah. So what else is new?" I inquired sarcastically.

I glanced over at Sasuke, who was looking much better then yesterday. His eyes were clear and his face was no longer pale. It was easy to see that he'd recovered very well.

Sasuke hadn't said a word, and had barely moved besides for sifting his gaze to the ground.

"Good morning, Sasuke," I whispered not meeting his cold gaze. "How are you today? Feeling alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks for yesterday," he murmured quietly.

I was shocked. Sasuke, thank _me_? "No problem, Sasuke. Any time," I managed to stammer, still staring down.

We waited in silence for Kakashi-sensei. And like usual, Naruto and Sakura's patience cracked, and they started yelling.

"Why? Why? Why? It's always the same! He sets the time them we have to wait eons for him!" shrieked Sakura punching the air. "He's the Jonin, and he's the one that should be setting a good example for us!"

"Yeah! Believe it! When Kakashi-sensei get's here, I'm going to pulverize him! Believe it!" yowled Naruto raising his fist to punch the air.

_Geez. I hate to admit it but waiting for Kakashi-sensei every morning really gets to me. _

Besides for the yelling issued from Sakura and Naruto, there was barely a sound issuing from the bridge. I stared down at the ripples flowing from beneath the bridge.

One hour, two hours passed. I began to feel the sun's rays beat down on the top of my head. Finally, Naruto and Sakura's voices burned out and they stopped yelling.

_About time! I thought their vocal chords had no end to sound. _

I let my 'aura-eye' open and I began to feel everyone's auras.

Naruto was plotting silently of ways to beat Sasuke. Sakura, like usual, was daydreaming about Sasuke and lecturing Naruto. Sasuke's mind was closed, and I couldn't see much. He was deep in thought about something. I saw a shadowed figure of a man, about the height of Kakashi-sensei. The only thing on him that showed color was his scarlet sharingan eyes, piercing through the darkness, his gaze was full of hate and cold words.

_Is that Itachi Uchiha? Is that how Sasuke imagines him? Then what about when he was younger? The two were really close, so what made him change his image. Just the Uchiha massacre? I can understand how much that would hurt Sasuke at the age he was, but everything changes so suddenly? Well, I guess that my thoughts aren't very accurate because I wasn't around during that time. I wish I knew more, though. Then maybe I could help him._

But I had no time to try and make sense of all this new information from Sasuke, because Kakashi-sensei arrived and began with his usual ritual.

"Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late, but an old lady asked me for directions and I had to carry all her luggage," he fibbed sheepishly.

"YOU LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura yelled in perfect sync.

"To think that their voices had burned out," I muttered.

"Enough time spent here, come on. Our mission today is to recover Tora, the cat belonging to feudal lord's wife. Let's go," Kakashi-sensei addressed completely ignoring Naruto and Sakura's continuous yelling.

"Um... Sensei? If the cat ran away, where are we supposed to look?" I inquired hesitantly.

"That's mainly for us to figure out. But the last sighting was to the west. We'll try there first," Kakashi-sensei replied.

"Fine."

"Alright! Let's get going everyone! No digging, no dusting or polishing, and no swimming! This is gonna be fun! Come on, that cat's not going to catch it's self!" yowled Naruto, his spirits high.

Kakashi-sensei led us out the entrance from the village and sprang into the trees, and began moving quickly towards the west. We followed quickly.

As I sprang into the trees following Sakura, I felt a rush of relief to finally be leaving the village on a mission worthy of a genin. Not that swimming is boring though.

Kakashi slowed his pace until he halted on a branch over a small spring surrounded with lots of marsh grasses. I saw some catmint growing in the roots of an old tree.

_If this cat is feisty one, that catmint might work. _

My ears pricked up as I heard a rustling in the tall grass on the other side of the spring. I looked closely and saw a small figure of a dark brown cat with a big, red bow on one ear, and her other one was torn. I guess that that'd been Tora.

Kakashi turned to the squad and handed us all a small transmitter that went around the neck by a gentle strap with a microphone and a thin chord attached. Once we had put them on correctly, Kakashi-sensei explained our mission, " now, you four are going to be searching for Tora yourselves, and I'll be in the background. I want to see how you work together without me around. So it'll be up to you to establish group status and work together to complete the mission. And remember, I'll be watching your every move so I don't want to see one person doing all the work while everyone else get wrapped up in some feud or something. Got it?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Well, okay, if Sasuke-teme doesn't completely screw up the mission," hissed Naruto crossly.

"Fine," muttered Sasuke staring down. Then he turned his attention to Naruto and warned, "just make sure you don't get in my way, loser."

"Hey, what did you call me, Sasuke-teme?" snorted Naruto indignantly, readying to spring at Sasuke.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura snapped harshly.

I was petrified. I hadn't the slightest clue as to what to say next. I knew that I had to break up the feud, but it seemed so mush easier in theory then in real life. I faltered and then something snapped inside of me.

"Hey! Knock it off, all of you!" I barked throwing one of my kunai at a tree, missing Sasuke's face by centimeters. Everyone turned to look at me. I was beginning to regret doing that but I brushed it away. My soft hazel eyes blazed. "Don't _any_ of you get it? _This _is exactly what Kakashi-sensei was telling us **not **to do." I fixed everyone with a stubborn gaze from my usually quiet hazel eyes. But on the inside, I was really uneasy about what would happen next, and I didn't believe that I'd have the skills to react to my team's reaction to my claim.

Sasuke was the first to relax, which surprised me, since it had been him who'd started the whole thing. But it also relieved me, because if Sasuke relaxed so would Sakura.

"Naya's right. This is exactly what Kakashi told us not to do," he muttered.

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun's right. You're so clueless Naruto!" Sakura agreed quickly.

I wasn't sure if Sakura truly agreed with her statement, but I wasn't about to go up and ask. But either way, if Sasuke would obey, so would Sakura.

"Well then, with that settled, I'm off. Good luck," Kakashi-sensei announced, then he disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

"Okay then, who's got a plan to catch the stupid cat?" asked Naruto crossing his arms to think.

"Well, while Kakashi-sensei as explaining the mission, I caught sight of that cat in the reeds on the other side of the pond. We could start searching there," I suggested hesitantly.

"Okay," Sakura agreed. "Okay with you, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn," was the only reply that Sasuke gave.

"Then, let's go," I started off first springing quickly from on branch to another easily clearing the pond several feet above, the rest of my squad followed.

_Since when did I decide to lead this mission, and since when did everyone follow my ideas? I wasn't even thinking of leading the mission. I thought that Sasuke or Sakura would lead, but never me. I just hope that I can trust in my abilities to lead this mission well._

"Hey! Hey! There's that stupid cat!" Naruto cried out extremely loudly. His voice shattered my plans of action.

"I'm going to catch you!" Naruto yowled again without waiting for a signal, sprang from the branch he was perched on and flew at the poor cat.

I froze as my gaze followed Naruto's body, flying at the cat that seemed completely unaware of the blur of orange shooting towards her. Naruto landed with a hearty thud. I'd been half expecting to see the poor cat squished by Naruto, who was nearly three times as big, but I turned my head in time to see Tora pelting off into the trees.

"After it!" commanded Sakura, giving chase.

Naruto clambered onto the same branch as Sasuke. Sasuke tossed him a look of pure loathing, and hissed, "Nice work, loser. Thanks to you, we al have to go and find the cat."

Naruto said nothing while keeping paced with Sasuke. He wore a very smug look on his face, while also scowling at Sasuke.

I stopped. The sounds of growled, hissing, and punching filled the air. I turned around to see Naruto and Sasuke locked in close combat with each other.

"Oi! What are you two doing?" I demanded, shouldering my way between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Teaching the Dobe a lesson," Sasuke replied.

"Well, I'm very well educated, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto countered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Hn," was Sasuke's only reply.

"Well, why not _try _to be a bit quieter?" I replied sulkily. "If you go crashing though the forest like a babbling monkey, it'll take us 'til we're forty-seven to catch Tora!"

The both pouted.

"I guess she has a point," Naruto finally admitted.

"Hn," Sasuke growled.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey! Hey!" called Sakura, bounding towards us quickly. "Where'd you get to? I went ahead and waited for a while. I got worried and came to look. You okay?"

"Yeah," I replied. The pain was leaving me, but it was still present. "There was a bit of hostile tempers between Naruto and Sasuke. But everything's fine now."

"Good," Sakura replied smiling brightly.

_Sakura seems different today…_

"Come on! Tora's up ahead, and it's not going to catch itself," she continued.

"Right!" I agreed. I could still feel that Naruto still holding a grudge against Sasuke, but that was normal.

Sakura led off first, Naruto second, Sasuke third, and I took the rear. From my position, I could see everyone as well as in front of Sakura.

"There it is!" cried out Naruto carelessly loud.

"Shut up, Loser!" hissed Sasuke harshly. "Do you want us to have to go off and find it again?"

"Aww, butt out Sasuke you idiot! I know how to catch cats!" Naruto argued

"And that's why you nearly squished it?" inquired Sasuke

"Quiet, both of you!" I hissed. "Instead of bickering over nothing, don't you think that we should be putting together a plan to catch Tora?"

"I guess so," replied Naruto dropping his head.

"Well, do any of you have a plan?" asked Sakura, who'd stopped and returned to the pack.

"Yeah, sort of anyway," I whispered.

"Well, don't leave us guessing, and just tell us already, Naya-san!" barked Naruto.

"Shut up, loser! Don't forget how shy Naya is. At this rate, she might not tell us at all," growled Sasuke sharply at Naruto.

"Yeah, Sasuke's right, Naruto!" agreed Sakura quickly. "You're so clueless Naruto!"

"But I-" Naruto started, but was cut off by a serious leer from Sakura who also hit him for good measure.

"So what was your plan to catch Tora?" inquired Sakura.

"Well-" I started, but was cut off by Naruto leaping off the branch he had been sitting on a few moments prior.

As he was air born Tora's ears pricked up and she shot away again, causing Naruto to miss, and he landed flat on his face in the dust.

"Naruto!" yowled Sakura, looming over him like a giant bear, her right hand folded into a fist.

I turned away from the sight, but couldn't block the sound on Naruto screeching in pain as Sakura slugged him.

I was about to leap down to the ground until I sensed the presence of Tora, who was pelting back through the trees.

_She must've gotten fed up with nearly being squished by Naruto and wants revenge. I can't say that I don't blame her. If the same person had nearly squished me twice, I'd do the same._

_ Well, I'll give her one thing. She's got guts to take on four ninja and she's less than half our size!_

Apparently my theory was proven true, because as Tora came racing out of the trees, she was heading straight for Naruto's lower stomach. Claws outstretched, Tora hit Naruto and began to slash at him with her claws. Sakura dodged to the side to avoid the screeching whirlwind that was Naruto and Tora.

"Should we help him?" asked Sakura to Sasuke.

"He hasn't given us much of a choice, has he?" he replied coldly, jumping to the ground. I followed.

Tora sprang off Naruto and shot for Sasuke, who was completely unprepared for the cat's counter strike. Tora's claws worked furiously at Sasuke. I saw Sasuke's midnight blue shirt rip from a clean swipe of Tora's paw as some drops of blood sprinkled the grass. More drops spattered against his leg. Sasuke managed to lash out at Tora, and push it off him. Upon closer inspection, Sasuke looked pretty beat up. Aside from his slash across the chest, he had a long scar along his left cheek, as well as a huge wound in his ego.

_Oh joy. This is going to be a very long day…._

Tora ignored Sakura creeping up it from behind. She either didn't care or didn't think that Sakura was much of a threat. Tora raced off again into the trees. I glanced over my shoulder to see Sakura yelling at Naruto for scaring Tora away _again_, and for getting her "beloved Sasuke-kun" injured. A wave of bickering rose in a blaze of fury.

I was getting very fed up with all the back-to-back feuds, went after Tora. I caught up to her in a small clearing. Tora was standing defensively with her back arched and her pelt bristled. But I stayed calm and played by my original plan, and began to sing quietly my favorite song; only hope.

_So I lay my head back down. And I lift my hands and pray, to be only yours, I pray, to be only yours, I know now, you're my only hope. Sing to me the song of this time. Of your galaxy dancing, and laughing, and laughing again. When it feels my dreams are so far, sing to me of the plans that you have for me over and over again. So I lay y head back down, and I lift my hands and pray, to be only yours, I pray, to be only yours. I know now, you're my only hope._

Luckily, my plan worked and Tora relaxed a lot. I began to feel comfortable moving closer, in a quiet, unchallenging way. Tora didn't run.

"Hey there, Tora," I cooed soothingly. I held out a few leaves of freshly picked catmint herb for Tora to eat.

Tora accepted taking the leaves in her mouth and began chewing them. I reached out cautiously reached out to pet Tora on the head. As I made contact, Tora's body tensed, but relaxed at the rhythmic strokes at her patchy pelt. I moved my hands gently to pick up Tora in my arms and carry her. Tora began to struggle, but I tightened my grip and began to stroke her pelt again, and Tora relaxed.

I got up slowly keeping a good grip on Tora and began to walk back to the group. Tora let out a small mew as if she was asking for more catmint. I honored her request and handed Tora some more leaves of catmint, who chewed at them happily.

I walked back to the area where I had left my squad mates bickering like young academy students. I could see easily that the scene hadn't changed much. Sasuke was standing in the background, while Sakura was knocking Naruto for a loop, _again_. Sasuke was the first to notice my presence.

"Well, Naya appears to have more brains then the loser," he remarked drily walking over to me.

I blinked quietly and dipped my head in a thank you to Sasuke's comment.

"How did you make that crazy cat calm down?" inquired Naruto bounding over.

"Naruto, can you stop bouncing around and being so loud. Sorry, but if it gets really loud, Tora might tear me to shreds and runaway, _again_,"

"But anyway, how did you get Tora to calm down anyway?" asked Sakura.

"A short song and some leaves," I replied meekly.

"Really? It was _THAT _simple?" exclaimed Sakura.

"Yeah. I guess the trick was to think like Tora. At that time, she was frightened, lost, and all alone, and nearly being squished, _twice_, wouldn't help anything either," I started quietly. "All she would really want was some comfort, and quiet. So, that's all I gave her."

"And I guess that being a Pokémon trainer would only boost your instinct to see how Tora was feeling at the time, right?" inquired Sasuke

"I guess. Yeah. Does Kakashi-sensei know that we caught Tora yet?"

"No," Naruto replied. "I'll tell him," Naruto pressed a button on the transmitter around his neck and spoke, "Lost pet, Tora, captured."

"Verify ribbon on right ear," replied the voice of Kakashi

"Affirmative. We've got a positive ID," Sasuke replied.

"Good," Kakashi replied. "How did the mission go? Any problems?"

Both Naruto and Sakura rushed to answer the question. I was quite unsure of what everyone was saying through the waves of bickering and Sakura sending Naruto for a loop, _again_.

"Enough!" Kakashi's voice commanded. "Sasuke, report!"

"We captured the target. It would've been sooner if the looser hadn't nearly squished the target, _twice. _After the looser screwed up the capture, the target got out of control cat crashed into me, I would've caught it if it weren't for Naruto's loud mouth, which scared off the target. So Naya had to go and capture the target herself," Sasuke replied.

"THAT WAS **NOT **WHAT HAPPENED, SASUKE YOU JERK!" yowled Naruto hotly, perching himself onto his toes, tying to meet Sasuke eye-to-eye. But Sasuke was still quite a bit taller and smirked with superiority, looking down on his 'so called' tormentor coldly.

"So you have the target?" inquired the voice of Kakashi, breaking the argument.

"Yes. Naya has it," Sasuke replied. I detected a hint of venom in his tone, apparently from this mission it had been proven that Sasuke disliked cats very much.

"Good. Lost pet, Tora, captured. Mission clear," replied Kakashi. "We'll meet up in the mission room."

"Fine," Sasuke replied, turning off the transmitter.

"Anyone else want to carry the target?" I inquired, expecting no reply and I got none. I was perfectly fine with this development.

As we walked through the forest on the outer part of the Konoha wall, I stayed well away from the rest of my squad mates, who were debating, as usual, over something of minor importance at the time. Naruto and Sasuke were yowling at each other for loosing the target so many times.

I sighed, _what makes them so prone to argue over everything? I don't know how they stand it!_

Back in the mission room, the feudal lord's wife was waiting with Kakashi-sensei.

As soon as Tora caught sight of her owner, she began to struggle frantically to be released from my grasp. I clung on tight as Tora's claws scored across my lower cheek. A long, thin scar was also drawn along my left arm. I felt the thin trickle of blood down my forearm. All my senses screamed to let Tora go, but something inside my conscience told me not to. I didn't.

The feudal lord's wife rushed forward and took Tora into her arms, and practically began to squish the poor cat into a hug that seemed to be able to shatter any person's bones within 30 seconds. I cringed at the sight of the feudal lord's wife cooing and smothering her cat who was yowling in agony.

"Heh heh, stupid cat. That kitty deserves to be squashed!" Naruto laughed while watching Tora's fate. I couldn't say that I fully agreed.

"No wonder it ran away, with that waiting for it when it returned," Sakura commented quietly.

"Hn," was the only expression Sasuke gave who seemed to be taking no side of the conversation at all.

I also thought it smart to stay out of it and just say nothing.

We all walked up to Kakashi-sensei and got our pay. Then we looked to him for further instructions.

"That's all for today. Dismissed," he said.


End file.
